Education

Medical Billing and Coding 101: Making Sense of Medical Codes

| KarlJobst

Medical Billing and Coding: An Overview

You’re at the doctor’s office for a routine checkup. After the visit, you receive an itemized bill with a bunch of weird codes and numbers. What do they mean? Medical billing and coding is a mysterious world filled with acronyms and numbers. But understanding the basics can help you make sense of the bills and charges. In this article, we’ll explore the fundamentals of medical billing and coding in simple terms. You’ll learn what CPT, ICD-10, and E/M codes are, how they work together, and why proper coding is so important. We’ll also review how medical bills are processed and break down some common charges. Whether you’re a patient trying to decipher your medical bills or are just curious about this behind-the-scenes part of healthcare, you’ll gain insight into this complex system. Let’s dive in and start demystifying medical billing and coding!

Understanding Common Medical Codes

To understand medical billing and coding, you first need to know about the codes themselves. The healthcare industry uses a standardized system to classify diseases, injuries, procedures, and services. Diagnosis codes, known as ICD codes, are used to identify a patient’s diagnosis. Currently, ICD-10 codes are used, which include about 68,000 codes.  Procedure codes, called CPT codes, are used to identify services provided, like an x-ray, surgery, or office visit. There are over 7,000 CPT codes.

Knowing these codes is key to working in medical billing and coding. As a medical biller, you’ll use the codes to prepare and submit claims to insurance companies to get paid for services. You need to make sure you use the correct codes for procedures and diagnoses. As a medical coder, you’ll review patient charts and assign the proper codes to bill for services. You have to understand anatomy, medical terminology, and the coding systems inside and out.   

While the numbers and letters in the codes may seem confusing at first, with regular use they’ll become second nature. The most important thing is to keep current with updates to the code sets and coding rules. Coding correctly is crucial for getting claims paid and keeping a practice running smoothly. If this fast-paced, detail-oriented field interests you, medical billing and coding can be a rewarding career. With the right training and certification, you’ll be deciphering those codes in no time!

How to Start a Career in Medical Billing and Coding

To make sense of a medical bill, you need to understand the codes. The most common are CPT codes, which stand for Current Procedural Terminology. These identify specific medical procedures performed by doctors and other healthcare professionals. 

CPT codes  have five digits and a short description, like 99213 – Office/outpatient visit, established patient. The numbers indicate the complexity of the visit. As the numbers get higher, the visit typically involves more time with the doctor and a more complicated medical issue.  

ICD codes represent diagnoses. ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases. These codes have three to seven digits, like 250.00 – Diabetes mellitus without complication, or J44.9  – Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified. ICD codes provide details about the patient’s medical conditions and health issues.

HCPCS codes cover healthcare products, supplies,  and services.They have two parts: Level I HCPCS codes that are CPT codes, and Level II HCPCS codes, like A7030 – Infusion set for external insulin pump, non needle cannula type. Level II codes represent things like ambulance services, durable medical equipment, and injectable drugs.

Between CPT codes, ICD codes and HCPCS codes, medical bills contain a lot of numbers. But understanding these common medical codes helps make sense of the charges and ensure you’re billed properly for the care you received. If you ever have questions about the codes on your medical bills, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor or healthcare provider for an explanation.

Fast Track Your Way to Becoming a Medical Assistant

| KarlJobst

So you want to become a medical assistant? Whether you’re fresh out of high school, looking for a career change, or wanting to gain valuable experience in the healthcare field, you can learn to be a medical assistant. The best part is you don’t need years of schooling to get started. With the right training program, you can land an entry-level position within months.

As a medical assistant, you’ll work alongside doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals providing administrative and clinical support. One day you might be scheduling appointments, the next day drawing blood or assisting with minor procedures. The work is varied and fast-paced, and medical assistants are in high demand. Healthcare organizations value their versatility, efficiency, and patient care.

If you’re eager to jumpstart your career, becoming a medical assistant is a smart move. You get to help people, work in a growing field, and gain useful experience—all without spending years in school. Whether you see it as a lifelong career or a stepping stone, medical assisting offers an exciting path to getting your foot in the healthcare door. Why wait? Let’s look at how you can become a medical assistant in as little as 4 to 12 months.

The Growing Demand for Medical Assistants

The healthcare industry is experiencing massive growth, and medical assistants are in high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for medical assistants is projected to grow a whopping 23% from 2019 to 2029. That’s over 100,000 new jobs!  

With an aging population and increased access to healthcare, physicians and nurses need support. As a medical assistant, you’ll take on important responsibilities like administering medications, drawing blood, recording patient histories, scheduling appointments, and more. This allows doctors and nurses to focus on critical patient care. 

How to Learn to Be a Medical Assistant Quickly

To become a medical assistant, you have several options. Many pursue on-the-job training, learning through experience. However, most employers prefer candidates with a postsecondary certificate or associate’s degree. Vocational schools and community colleges offer medical assisting programs that usually take 9 months to 2 years to complete. Coursework covers anatomy, medical terminology, record keeping, and clinical procedures.  

Once you’ve completed your training, you’ll need to become certified (though not always required). Passing an exam from the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or National Healthcareer Association (NHA) will demonstrate your competence to employers. Certification, along with a degree or certificate, is your ticket to this fast-growing, rewarding career.

The demand for medical assistants shows no signs of slowing. If you’re interested in healthcare, now is an ideal time to start your training and join this essential field. With the right education and skills, you’ll have job security and career opportunities for years to come.

Top Medical Assistant Training Programs and Courses

If you want to fast track your way to becoming a medical assistant, here are some tips to get you started:

Learn through online courses

These days, you have access to tons of online courses to teach you everything you need to know to become a medical assistant. Courses through websites like Udemy, Coursera, and Udacity offer training on medical terminology, electronic health records, phlebotomy, and more. The courses often include video lectures, readings, and hands-on projects.  Some are self-paced while others have set start and end dates. The best part is many are very affordable or even free.

Find a hands-on externship

While online learning is great for theory, nothing beats real-world experience. Look for externship or internship opportunities at local hospitals, clinics, or private practices. Even if it’s only for a few weeks, you’ll gain valuable on-the-job training and experience. You’ll also start building your professional network and may even land a job offer.

Earn necessary certifications

Certain medical assistant certifications can help boost your resume and open up more career opportunities. Two of the most well-known are the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) credential from the American Association of Medical Assistants and the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) credential from American Medical Technologists. Study the certification requirements and topics to make sure you’re ready to pass the exam.

Keep learning and improving your skills

Technology and healthcare practices are constantly changing, so medical assistants need to stay up-to-date with advances in equipment, records systems, and treatment options. Take additional courses or pursue continuing education to strengthen your knowledge and skills. Staying professionally engaged will make you a better medical assistant and open up doors for career growth.

With determination and hard work, you can fast track your way to becoming a medical assistant in a matter of months. Keep at it and before you know it, you’ll be assisting doctors and nurses in providing quality care to patients.

Dental Etiquette: 5 Do’s and Dont’s

| KarlJobst

You are reminded to uphold good manners everywhere you go, but few people actually understand how to do the same when they visit a dentist. It is essential to ensure you don’t burden your dentist by doing things that don’t subscribe the required dental etiquette and expected of any patient. Although it is within the confines of your dentist to address all the issues you think your dental health is facing, you are indebted to ensure you give him or her the best time by not behaving in a manner that goes against common dental etiquette. Karl Jobst Grove OK is a dental expert and he advises that you should understand these five do’s and don’ts of dental etiquette.

You need a break from your cell phone

Sinking your head in your cell phone all the while as your dentist tries to diagnose you is one of the most annoying things. Sometimes your dentist will want to ask a few questions about your dental history and things you have been taking to understand where to start and if you are too committed to responding to messages and calls this might not augur well with the professional. It is necessary to allocate ample time to your dentist by ensuring your phone does not distract both of you from the issue at hand.

Hold off on lipstick

You might decide to wear your awesome lipstick, but don’t get annoyed when the dentist advises you to get it off. Lipstick can stick on instruments as the dentist works on you, and I don’t believe there is any professional who is interested in getting tools soiled with alien colors. Observe etiquette by not wearing any lipstick on the day you will be checking in for checkups at your dentist’s office.

Be open about your home dental practices

Some people will want to lie to their dentist about their dental practice and this will obviously not go well with the entire treatment process. It makes it harder for the dentist to exactly locate what is ailing you as sometimes your home dental habits point to a source of what you are going through and with this information the dentist can find a solution without having to take you through many sessions of diagnoses. This mostly works against you as you will most likely not get what you need to solve the dental problems you are harboring.

Ask questions

Dentists agree that no question is stupid as long as it relates to the process they are undertaking. It is, therefore, essential that you seek information on anything you seem not to understand. You could even ask for alternatives to different processes and you will be surprised by the wide array of options that are available that the dentist is willing to propose to you. Asking questions also ensures your doctor proceeds faster as they are able to understand what you prefer to be undertaken to address your problem. A question is seeking an opinion and clarification on what might turn out to be one among many options that you could have exploited.

Don’t smoke before the visit

Smoking is discouraged across the medical sphere, not just in dentistry. When you expect to see a dentist, this is one of the things you should not try and do. You need to have your mouth free of any residues of tar that might compromise the diagnoses that are conducted on you. If you could quit smoking altogether, you would reap more benefits as this practice leads to teeth staining and loss, and could even lead to throat cancer.

Groza Learning Center Discusses 2016 SAT Changes

| KarlJobst

As one of the most important exams a student will take during their academic career, the SAT and ACT are correctly viewed as tests worthy of detailed and thorough preparation. As a result, there has been a great deal of material created over the years for the purpose of test preparation, but recent changes to the SAT have led many to wonder whether the previously available material concerning this critical standardized test is still useful. Given the nature of the changes, it is absolutely true that updated materials are necessary as a part of a strategy to achieve the best possible outcome on the SAT, but there are far more questions regarding recent modifications to the SAT that are likewise deserving of consideration.

Scott Groza, the founder of the Groza Learning Center, recently addressed some of the more pressing concerns relating to the SAT’s newly implemented alterations, offering his professional insight regarding the following questions, among others:

• Will the changes to the SAT have an adverse influence on student performance?

• SAT or ACT? Which is the better option?

• What is the most effective test-preparation strategy?

• What materials are available for test preparation?

As an educator and a co-founder of a learning center that offers specific courses on SAT and ACT test preparation, Groza has a unique understanding of the recent changes to the SAT and the impact those changes may have on student performance.

Will the Changes to the SAT Influence Student Performance?

… the publishers of test preparation guides have had more than enough time to create new test-taking materials for students to utilize

The common refrain heard in response to the changes to the SAT is that students may not be able to properly prepare for the exam in the same way as before. Since the last change to the SAT was over 10 years ago, the belief is that there was a decade’s worth of data guiding preparation for previous versions of the exam. Without the same amount of data, many students are worried that they will not be able to benefit in the same way they would have in the past through the use of test preparation materials.

This is not as pressing an issue as it may seem on the surface. According to Groza, the College Board (the organization responsible for creating the SAT) has already released a 210-page document that goes into great detail regarding every aspect of the test along with four practice exams that reflect the recent changes made to the SAT. Since this official material has already been released and has been freely available for quite some time, the publishers of test preparation guides have had more than enough time to create new test-taking materials for students to utilize.

Groza noted that students will have access to the kind of high-quality materials that make it more than possible to properly prepare for the SAT. While emphasizing the importance of preparation as it relates to success on either exam, Groza also pointed out the fact that test scores on both the SAT and ACT are scaled according to the performance of all test-takers. Since the scores take overall performance into account, the fact that the test is new should have no undue influence on a student’s score when all students are taking the same test and have had access to the same materials.

SAT or ACT? Which Is the Better Option?

sat-actEven with access to perfectly adequate preparation materials for the new SAT, many students have wondered whether having access to more ACT preparation materials would benefit their performance. The fact that the tests are scaled — along with the fact that it is the quality of the preparation that matters most — eliminates this possibility, so students should not view one test as better than the other without evaluating how each test suits their personal skill set. Ultimately, the better option is the one that a student feels most comfortable with, so Groza recommends that students make a decision to take one or the other and to simply focus their energy on preparing for the test they have selected.

What Is the Most Effective Test-Preparation Strategy?

Each student is unique and therefore requires a unique approach to test preparation. There is no single approach that is most effective, particularly since some students will benefit from working with a group while others will experience a greater outcome through one-on-one tutoring sessions. There are even a number of students who are able to adequately prepare for the SAT or the ACT through self-guided study alone, but it remains important to point out that the most effective method for developing a strategy for test preparation includes an initial assessment for identifying individual strengths and weaknesses.

Recognizing the importance of the initial assessment, the Groza Learning Center utilizes an SAT practice test — which has been updated to reflect the most recent changes — to identify the areas a student should focus on in advance of taking the actual exam. Groza noted that this allows for the development of a program based on the most critical content areas and the order in which those content areas should be addressed. This, along with regular progress assessments, enables students to achieve an optimal score on the new SAT. Of course, the learning center uses this approach in preparing students for the ACT along with other important standardized tests students may encounter.

What Materials Are Available for Test Preparation?

As noted above, the same publishers that created the previously available SAT preparation materials have created updated materials that reflect the changes made by the College Board. These materials are based on the officially released documents made available through the College Board, meaning that the test materials should be every bit as effective as in previous years. There are certainly more preparation materials available for ACT preparation, but this does not speak to the quality of the SAT materials nor does it make a difference on a student’s ability to prepare for either test. As Groza has repeatedly pointed out, it is what the student does with the materials that matters most.