Medical coding specialist creates and overviews all actions related to medical center or hospital or inpatient and outpatient coding or medical billing or rehabilitation and nursing coding. They maintains a close relationship with Revenue Integrity and the Hospital Operations department to support coding correctness that is reliable with industry standards and in compliance with the standard Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, as well as coordination with medical documentation specialists to guarantee maximum reimbursement. This person plays major role for implementation of on-site and far-off coding staffs and other support programs.
Medical coding specialist will be responsible for developing or maintaining a customs of service, financial discipline and monetary responsibility, compliance, morals and integrity. Thus they maintain information and assure departmental compliance with given set of principles, policies and procedures, appropriate regulatory requirements and authorization standards. This duty is expressed throughout monitoring, audits, reporting of results and instructions to the suitable parties. This person also oversees the reporting of future audit presentations in combination with coding and performance plan. This would comprise reporting on denial management and reimbursements.
This vital position has entrance to proprietary information and has contact with third party organizations in which he mandates high standards of communication, performance, professionalism and respect for confidentiality. That’s why a medical coding specialist deserves a handsome salary. Nowadays, the average salary of a medical coding specialist is $46,847 (compared to previous year’s $47,870). The salary survey conducted by in 2013 by AAPC also shows that the average salary increases up to $48,925 for those specialists who have gained more than two years of experience in healthcare industry. Further experienced personnel enjoy more salary than the little experienced guys.
Medical coding specialist who have gained more than 15 years of experience earning an average salary of $56,667 annually. Another interesting thing that this survey indicates 1st 20 year’s salary increases rapidly but after that it growth level declines slowly. It is also a clear message that more credential and certification will bring you more money in this profession. When we see separately, specialized credential holder makes more money than usual one. According to this year’s data, medical coding specialists who hold any of AAPC’s specialty credentials earn an average yearly salary of $53,489.When we analyze salary by region, the average salaries in different region varies. The Southeast Central states (Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee) are the only 4 states this year to see an augment in the average salary, by about 3 percent.
Day by day, the healthcare workplace is developing. In last couple of years, we experienced a slow decline in the quantity of labor intensive professionals working at healthcare industry. While the healthcare work environment may be changing, the average salaries in those healthcare organizations are amazingly close to expectation. When comparing the average salaries of medical coding specialist working in hospitals of different localities, there is just about a $6,500 difference and small group practices on the decline, ended at $42,202 and healthcare systems on the higher end at $48,789.