Medical Billing and Coding Course

What You'll Study in a Medical Billing and Coding Course

As a medical billing and coding specialist, you'll need expertise in a wide range of areas—from anatomy and physiology to insurance claim procedures and medical office administration—in order to do your job. With this in mind, a typical medical billing and coding course will include the following classes:

• Anatomy and Physiology – An integral part of any medical billing and coding course, anatomy and physiology will give you a basic understanding of the human body's organ systems, their functions and how they work together.
• Insurance Claim Procedures – All medical billing and coding courses will offer a version of this class, which will train you in the standard procedures for filing an insurance claim.
• Medical Coding – Typical coding workshops in a medical billing and coding course will teach you how to apply Current Procedural Technology (CPT), International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes.

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• Medical Office Administration – Many medical billing and coding courses offer a class or two that will give you a basic knowledge of how to keep a medical office running smoothly. You will learn how to take care of routine tasks such as greeting patients, scheduling appointments and handling other various clerical work.
• Medical Office Technology – Included with most medical billing and coding courses, this class will teach you how to use typical medical office equipment and software.
• Medical Terminology – All medical billing and coding courses offer this class, which will train you in the proper names for human anatomy, bodily processes, diseases and related medical procedures.

Keep in mind that there will be differences in how each school names its medical billing and coding classes, but the education you receive should cover all or most of the above-listed subjects.