What Are Classes for Medical Billing and Coding Should Cover

The Medical Billing and Coding classes offer a number of advantages for those who are looking for a high-paying field with an accessible education component. The classes of medical billing and coding assist you to identify medical tests, diagnoses, treatments and procedures that are found in clinical documentation.

It is reported that medical billing is ranked 24th on the U.S. news and World Report 2021 list of the Best Jobs Without A College Degree. Certainly, to get the certified medical billing and coding specialists, there are some curriculums that you should learn. You should  at least complete the most amount of curriculums offered.

What Are Classes for Medical Billing and Coding Should Cover

So, what will you learn in the medical billing and coding program? If you are wondering about it, let’s find out more information about it in our post below!

Curriculums/ Courses for Medical Billing and Coding Program

Basically, the medical billing and coding classes will cover clinical and clerical topics where the students will learn the basics of anatomy, medical terminology and pharmacology. They will also combine those courses with business essentials such as records management. In this case, the professionals have to stay up-to-date on changes with the healthcare system, privacy laws and insurance billing procedures.

To ease you find out what you will learn in the medical billing and coding program, below the list of the curriculum or courses for medical billing and coding program!

    1. Medical Terminology

It’s a very important course that you will learn in a medical billing and coding program. The medical terminology here refers to the language or terms that you will learn including the complex names for diseases, shorthand for medical codes, and also jargon used in a medical office. Through this course, you will learn the fundamentals and origins of medical terms as well as how to define, analyze, and also make those terms.

    1. Medical Office Procedures

This course will teach you to do typical administrative assistant duties such as business letter writing, telephone call management, travel and meeting planning, task management, electronic and print mail processing, as well as all within the context of the medical environment.

    1. Body Systems I and II

In the series of Body Systems I and II classes, you will get practical knowledge of the human form and the medical terms that are associated with the body’s operations. They include the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and also respiratory systems.

You will also learn the terminology that is used in laboratory settings and pharmacology. In this case, the second course is built on the first and also to explore more complex body systems and medical terms that are related to sense oncology, organs and genetics.

    1. Pharmacology

You should know that the drugs can be catastrophic and lifesaving. So, it’s very important to obtain the right dosage, name and also instructions on the label in order to prevent a healing agent from turning into a toxin.

Through this course, you will get experience with drugs names both generic and trade. Aside from that, the drug side effects and medication interactions will also be taught. Additionally, you will also learn how pharmaceuticals correspond to body systems.

    1. Medical Billing and Health Insurance

You will learn the healthcare reimbursement and payment processes for a variety of health insurance types. You will also learn the payment systems, coding procedures, fee schedule and also the internal audit process.

    1. Medical Contract, HIPPA and Ethics

Through these courses, you will learn the elements of managed care contracts and covered patient services that include preventive health services and office visits. This course also digs into ethics and handles protected health information and disclosure under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT (HIPAA).

Moreover, this course covers the electronic health record (EHR) incentives that are offered under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

    1. Coding for Hospital Applications/ Hospital Medical Billing

Medical billing and coding specialists will work in busy, fast-paced hospitals. The Centers for Disease Control reported that in 2011 alone, the U.S. emergency rooms saw 130 million visitors, a number that does not include patients that are admitted to other hospital wards.

To follow it up, you should learn the difference between inpatient and outpatient services as well as how to  handle standard hospital billing claim forms. You should also know how to submit and follow up quickly.

    1. Coding for Medical Office Applications/ Physician Medical Billing

In this class, you will gain the skills to complete the medical claims forms accurately both manually and electronically. You will also work with the CMS-1500 form that is used for Medicare claims and aims to understand why claims forms are delayed or rejected. As you know, the medical offices will be only as fast-paced as hospitals and rely on the same standard codes.

    1. Basic Coding Using ICD-9 and ICD-10

Through this course, you will learn about the codes including each disease, condition, diagnosis, sickness and treatment. The codes will make it simpler for doctors and nurses to track services which patients receive. Those codes also help the medical billers process claims.

Aside from learning the codes for diseases, you will also learn about ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding. More coding courses that you will learn include cardiology, pathology and also laboratory procedures.

    1. Intermediate Medical Coding

This course teaches you how to implement the CPT, ICD-9 and ICD-10 classification systems to code diagnose and also procedures. Moreover, the intermediate medical coding course builds on your previous basic coding skills course.

    1. Advanced Medical Coding Scenarios

In the third tier of course, you will learn code using ICD-9, ICD-10, CPT and HCPCS in advanced medical coding scenarios. This course basically builds on the previous basic and intermediate course to teach you how to interpret complex medical data. The Advanced Medical Coding Scenarios will also prepare them to take the CPC-A coding certification exam.

Well, those are generally classes that should be covered for the Medical Billing and Coding program. Perhaps, there are other courses/ curriculums that you have to learn in the future.