After finishing education on medical coding from academia, you are eligible for entry level medical coding jobs. Entry level medical coding jobs usually require a 2 year associate degree or a 1 year certificate degree. They are usually easy to find as the number of medical coding or medical billing jobs are on the rise. If you have an AAPC or AHIMA certification, your chance of getting an entry level job is many times higher than non certified medical coding personnel.
Online job websites regularly posts entry level medical coding jobs. You could apply online through this websites or you could send hardcopy of your job application with a cover letter to headquarters of different medical coding companies through courier. Humana, Lexicode, Kaplan, Boston Health center, New York Hospital are some of the medical coder recruiting companies.
At present, more than 125,000 medical coding professionals are members of AAPC. This professional association gives a various types of opportunities to raise the standards of medical coding by developing education, professional certification, scope of networking with other related healthcare professionals and a array of job search database and career building opportunities. If you are an entry level medical coder, our advice is that you should learn more about AAPC and grab benefit of the workshops, on-demand webinars, local and national conferences. AAPC also publishes a monthly magazine named Cutting Edge to develop coding skills and stand out in your field from other coding professionals. As a part of AAPC you will also be capable to meet many coding professionals by attending in the coding conversation forums, Facebook coding group, or one of more than 550 regional chapters all over the United States and nearby areas. AAPC members also benefit from huge savings on medical coding or billing books plus a variety of other members-only special discounts. If you are worried about what you have studied so far about AAPC and opportunities pursuing medical coding, medical auditing, medical practice management, compliance or one of the additional specialized credentials you can begin your new career by joining AAPC.
Adding to that, some health centers or big hospitals occasionally look for medical coding associate or trainee medical coder or trainee medical biller. These entry level jobs will not give you a handsome salary but a good healthcare coding experience which you could perfectly capitalize in the future. However, today many jobs also have common characteristics with medical billing jobs. Medical billers are habitually the central link between healthcare providers, insurance companies and patients. You can search jobs in roughly any healthcare setting, but the most universal employers are physicians’ offices, diagnostic centers and hospitals. Students can work part time in non-specialty roles that are intimately related to jobs with the purpose of gaining an overview of how healthcare systems function. You can also improve your chances of victory on the job market and perhaps find a higher salary if you are well-known with the newest versions of the medical coding system. In a nutshell, once you have ended up with a job, your salary will be based upon your employer, level of certification and the experience you have gained in similar settings.