Activities	Technicians who specialize in coding are called medical coders or coding specialists. Medical coders assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure by using classification systems software. The classification system determines the amount for which healthcare providers will be reimbursed if the patient is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance programs using the system. Coders may use several coding systems, such as those required for ambulatory settings, physician offices, or long-term care.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$30,600 per year in 2008
Work Context & Conditions	Medical records and health information technicians work in pleasant and comfortable offices. This is one of the few health-related occupations in which there is no direct hands-on patient care.
Minimum Education Requirements	Associate's Degree
Skills	Active Listening, Writing, Time Management, Reading Comprehension, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Written Comprehension, Information Ordering, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Office & Administrative Support
Job Description		A medical coding (or clinical coding) specialist is an individual who reviews and analyzes health records to identify relevant diagnoses and procedures for distinct patient encounters. The medical coding specialist is responsible for translating diagnostic and procedural phrases used by healthcare providers into coded form. The translation process requires interaction with the healthcare provider to ensure that the terms have been translated correctly. The coded information that is a product of the coding process is then used for reimbursement purposes, in the assessment of clinical care, to support medical research activity and to support the identification of healthcare concerns critical to the public at large. The medical coding specialist must have a thorough understanding of the content of the medical record to be able to locate information to support or provide specificity for coding. The medical coding specialist works as part of a team to achieve the best quality patient care. Job titles include clinical coding specialist, clinical data specialist, data quality manager and health information management (HIM) compliance specialist . The clinical coding specialist applies the appropriate diagnostic and procedural codes to individual patient health information for data retrieval, data analysis, and claims processing. The clinical data specialist is a member of the data management team responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of clinical coding validating the information in the databases for outcomes management and specialty registries and performing clinical research across the entire integrated healthcare system. The data quality manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining a data quality management (compliance) plan for coding and reimbursement, health records and documentation, and quality data in all divisions of the organization. The HIM compliance specialist oversees and monitors implementation of the HIM compliance program in the organization.
Working Conditions		While hospitals are the primary work setting for coders, they are also found in physicians' offices, as consultants, in healthcare delivery systems, and in long term care and ambulatory care settings. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), medical records and health information technicians usually work a 40-hour week. Some overtime may be required in hospitals—where health information departments often are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—technicians may work day, evening, and night shifts. Medical records and health information technicians work in pleasant and comfortable offices. This is one of the few health occupations in which there is little or no direct contact with patients. Because accuracy is essential in their jobs, technicians must pay close attention to detail.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings for Medical coding technicians were $30,600 in 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $24,300 and $39,500. the lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,400 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $50,100.

Education Required		Education and training. Medical records and health information technicians generally have an associate degree. Typical coursework in health information technology includes medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, health data requirements and standards, clinical classification and coding systems, data analysis, healthcare reimbursement methods, database security and management, and quality improvement methods. Applicants can improve their chances of admission into a postsecondary program by taking biology, math, chemistry, health, and computer science courses in high school. Experienced medical records and health information technicians usually advance their careers by obtaining a bachelor’s or master’s degree or by seeking an advanced specialty certification. Technicians with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can advance and become a health information manager. Technicians can also obtain advanced specialty certification. Advanced specialty certification is typically experience-based, but may require additional formal education depending on the certifying organization. Certified medical coders are trained in the anatomy and physiology of the human body and disease processes in order to understand the etiology, pathology, symptoms, signs, diagnostic studies, treatment modalities, and prognosis of diseases and procedures to be coded. Coders may choose to receive an associate or bachelor's degree in health information management offered at over 200 colleges and universities across the country. Some educational institutions also offer a coding certificate program. The American Health Information Management Association, in seeking to approve high-quality coding instruction, has developed a process by which organizations involved with coding education can be peer reviewed against a minimum set of criteria for comprehensive medical coding training. This process allows academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and private companies, among others to be acknowledged as offering an AHIMA approved coding education model.
Recommended High School Courses		Computers and Electronics, Biology
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics, Clerical
Certification and Licensing		Most employers prefer to hire credentialed medical record and health information technicians. A number of organizations offer credentials typically based on passing a credentialing exam. Most credentialing programs require regular recertification and continuing education to maintain the credential. Many coding credentials require an amount of time in coding experience in the work setting. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) offers credentialing as a Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT). To obtain the RHIT credential, an individual must graduate from a 2-year associate degree program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) and pass an AHIMA-administered written examination. In 2008, there were more than 200 CAHIIM-accredited health information technology colleges and universities programs. The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) offers coding credentials. The Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) and Professional Association of Health care Coding Specialists (PAHCS) both offer credentialing in specialty coding. The National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) offers a credential as a Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR). To learn more about the credentials available and their specific requirements, contact the credentialing organization. Health information technicians and coders should possess good oral and written communication skills as they often serve as liaisons between healthcare facilities, insurance companies, and other establishments. Candidates proficient with computer software and technology will be appealing to employers as healthcare facilities continue to adopt electronic health records. Medical records and health information technicians should enjoy learning, as continuing education is important in the occupation. Certification in coding results in the following credentials: Certified Coding Associate (CCA), Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), and Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-based (CCS-P). According to the AHIMA Candidate Handbook for CCA, to be eligible to sit for the CCA examination, candidates must have earned a high school diploma from a U.S. high school, or have an equivalent background. Although not required, it is strongly recommended that candidates have at least six months experience in a healthcare organization applying ICD-9-CM and CPT coding conventions and guidelines, or have completed either an HIMA- approved coding certificate program or other formal coding training program. According to the AHIMA Candidate Handbook for CCS and CCS - P, to be eligible to sit for the CCS exam, candidates must have earned a high school diploma from a U. S. high school or have an equivalent educational background. Although not required, it is strongly recommended that candidates have experience in hospital inpatient (ICD-9-CM) and ambulatory care (ICD-9-CM and CPT) medical record coding. Results of previous examinations suggest that those with three or more years of related coding experience are more likely to pass. It is strongly recommended that candidates for the CCS-P have experience in physician-based ICD-9-CM, CPT, and HCPCS Level II medical record coding. Past experience has shown that those with three or more years of multispecialty physician-based coding experience are more likely to pass.

Interest Area		Conventional Involves following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. There's usually a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values		Moral Values Never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong. Security Have steady employment. Working Conditions Good working conditions. Activity Busy all the time.
Skills		Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Technician, Pharmacy
Job Outlook		Employment of medical records and health information technicians is expected to increase by 20 percent, much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018. Employment growth will result from the increase in the number of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that will be performed. As the population continues to age, the occurrence of health-related problems will increase. Cancer registrars should experience job growth as the incidence of cancer increases from an aging population. Although employment growth in hospitals will not keep pace with growth in other healthcare industries, many new jobs will, nevertheless, be created. The majority of new jobs is expected to be in offices of physicians as a result of increasing demand for detailed records, especially in large group practices. Rapid growth is expected in home health care services, outpatient care centers, and nursing and residential care facilities. Additional job openings will result from the need to replace technicians who retire or leave the occupation permanently. Technicians with a strong background in medical coding will be in particularly high demand. Changing government regulations and the growth of managed care have increased the amount of paperwork involved in filing insurance claims. Additionally, healthcare facilities are having difficulty attracting qualified workers, primarily because of the lack of both formal training programs and sufficient resources to provide on-the-job training for coders. Job opportunities may be especially good for coders employed through temporary help agencies or by professional services firms.
More Information		American Health Information Management Association
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Medical Records and Health Information Technicians, online at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos103.htm O*Net OnLine at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-2071.00