Most medical practitioners originally trained in their subject in order to heal and help the sick.  Yet, an increasing number of those involved in the healthcare industry have discovered that they are expected to devote much of their time to organizing and coordinating their company’s administrative and billing activities rather than carrying out their vocation.

Profession

A brilliant doctor isn’t necessarily a wonderful administrator, and as a result an increasing number of businesses have discovered the importance of Electronic Health Records (EHRs).  Synchronicity between the doctor’s patient treatment and the administrative staff is essential in both large and smaller concerns.  The administrative staff members that carry out the function of keeping the patients’ records, sending out the bills and generally ensure the smooth running of a practice have many responsibilities.  Medical bills are the accounting side of the business and ensure the financial health of the practice, whereas coding is the data processing function associated with national compliance.  Coding is the translation of patient records and treatments into an alphanumeric form that can then be used in assessing a doctor’s fee. Protocols in both of these areas are constantly changing and any medical practice that wishes to stay on top of these changes should offer staff training in order to ensure maximum efficiency.

Training

A competent administrative staff is the key.  Many lawsuits are concerned with fees and billing, and as a result of this growth it’s highly advantageous for a medical administrator to have gained a qualification in EHR billing. Medical coding training is available around the country and many medical administrators take advantage of http://online.bryantstratton.edu/medical-reimbursement-coding/ in order to obtain these qualifications. Any student who has taken a degree in Medical Reimbursement & Coding Associate of Applied Science will be fluent in the national rules of coding.  This should ensure that all payments and charges would be correct.  The student can take a course that relates to hospital administration or a smaller practice, and some students choose to study a course that involves both disciplines.  The fact that the course can be taken online means that if a student is already working in a medical environment they can apply theory to practice, and thereby gain a deeper understanding of the importance and the complexities of their role.

Importance

Such a qualification will obviously help the student and the practice.  EHRs are vital to the financial competitiveness of the healthcare provider and will ensure that fewer mistakes will be made over treatment and billing. Physicians will be able to keep an eye on productivity and will easily be able to distinguish which treatments are the most cost effective. EHRs have been in use for over 30 years but it’s only recently that their widespread importance has been appreciated.  Physicians using this system can measure all aspects of their practice’s productivity and ensure that the ICD-10 coding deadline is met.  A practice that doesn’t implement EHR runs the risk of missing this essential federal deadline, and is also in danger of billing the patient and insurance company inaccurately.  The qualification in coding and billing means that the physician can rest assured that the practice is running as efficiently as is humanly possible.

Written By:
Aimee Claire