Nowadays, 172,500 professionals are employed as medical billing and coding employees in US. In next 10 years of time, this profession is likely to grow by 20 percent because there is a growing need to meet for the baby boomers. Medical coders presently have a good advancement potential in their carrier. An entry level medical coder resume must consist of 4 parts:
- Academic degrees
- Certification
- Internship experience
- References
A typical entry level medical coder resume may also explain about the following soft skills:
- Efficiency in reviewing and allocating correct medical codes in diagnoses, billing, reviewing and record-keeping.
- Expertise in various basics of various subject matters, i.e. anesthesiology, radiology, medicine, microbiology, surgical procedures, medical laws, insurance laws etc.
- Very good knowledge on medical compliance and reimbursement and how to include this into process.
- Effective communication (both oral and written), administrative and managerial skill.
A CPC certification exam consists of: 150 multiple choice questions and it require more than 5 hours finishing the test. It would cost you approximately $300.00 (for AAPC member only $260). It is always recommended to take the test before entering into the job market. That will boost you resume as a skilled medical coder. Through the CPC exam you will learn the ICT-9 and HCPCS-II codes used in following services in a healthcare setting:
- Radiology
- Anesthesia
- Medicine
- Endocrine
- Musculoskeletal
- Digestive
- Kidney
- Evaluation and Management
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Diaphragm & bone marrow
- Practice Management
- Pain management
- Male/Female Genital
- Maternity & Delivery
- Eye
- Coding Guidelines
- Medical Terminology
- Pathology
- Medical Laboratory
However, in resume recruiters often look for a associate degree from an accredited college and a certification credential from AIHMA, AAPC or HCPCS. This assures head hunters about the quality of candidates. In your resume, you could also inform that you are capable to work flexibly from home or far away distances. Even when required can do the night shifts according to the need of the patients and other healthcare professionals.
In this position, it is also mandatory that you uphold a good writing and speaking skill on English language. If you have done any other language course like Spanish, French, Chinese, German or Arabic, you could add those. That would add more value.
You could add your academic project or summary of internship report in your resume. In that, you can prove that you have got some sorts of medical coding and billing experience. Through that you have practically learned ICT codes, medical coding rules and regulations, patient records, bill denials and above all, alphanumerical code encryption in day to day activities. These you certainly give confidence to employers in hiring you if you could do that smartly.
Last but not the least you must have strong MS Office skill (ms word, ms excel, ms access, ms outlook, ms power point). Without these skills you cannot survive in this profession.