Consider medical billing and coding if you’re looking for a career that lets you work from home and earn a good hourly wage. This field offers many benefits, including the chance to interact with patients. However, this type of work also requires certain personality traits.

Work From Home

One of the greatest advantages of working from home is setting your own schedule and avoiding the pressures of an on-site workplace. You can work around your kids or pets and don’t need a set space set up by your employer. You can also fit in family time and exercise. This work is ideal for those with disabilities or other responsibilities that interfere with their regular schedule.

There are several ways to find work-from-home opportunities in medical billing and coding. First, you can browse through online job posting websites. Many companies use these to post jobs, and you can narrow your search by indicating whether or not the position is remote. Also, you can utilize social media to reach out to hiring managers. This networking can open up even more job opportunities.

Earn a High Hourly Salary

Once you enter the medical billing and coding field you need to know its main role. The role of a medical biller involves translating medical information into codes, which healthcare administrators and insurance companies use to process bills and bill medical costs. The field requires many skills, including knowledge of medical terminology and a thorough understanding of various diseases and diagnoses. While you will spend most of your time working behind a computer, you should also be detail-oriented and have good interpersonal skills.

Depending on where you live, your medical billing and coding career can lead to a high hourly wage. In 2015, Newark, New Jersey, and San Jose-Santa Clara were the top-paying metro areas for medical billing and coding specialists. In addition to these top metros, other top-paying cities included Oakland, San Francisco, Silver Spring, and the District of Columbia.

Work With Patients

A medical billing and coding field professional works with electronic health records to ensure the accuracy of codes and other information. This job also requires working with a team and communicating with patients and other stakeholders. Other duties may include data verification, scheduling appointments, and managing files. To become a medical coding field professionally, you must pass the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam. You can prepare for this exam through a certified program. Some schools may also provide career services, such as resume writing and job search assistance.

A medical billing field professional has to be detail-oriented, with an eye for mistakes and a working knowledge of the facility’s coding system. Some organizations have separate employees who handle the billing and coding jobs, but some may combine the two roles. In such a case, it is best to pursue a candidate capable of fulfilling both job descriptions.

Personality Traits

A person with a positive attitude is a good asset for a medical billing specialist. A positive attitude promotes physical and mental health. It also makes a person happier, both at work and at home. An optimistic outlook also reflects positive values, and a medical billing specialist with a positive attitude will likely enjoy their work more.

The medical field is very demanding and requires high communication skills. People who thrive in this field must be able to explain medical conditions and treatment options to patients. For example, a person with a high level of extraversion is likely to prefer a job that requires a lot of talking and socializing. Similarly, people with strong Judging tendencies are suited to medical billing and coding careers, which require a high level of organization and planning.

Earning Potential

The medical billing and coding fields require both quantitative and qualitative skills. Billers use analytics to process patient information, while coders work on behalf of hospitals to translate medical encounters into codes and send payment requests to insurance companies. Despite their similarities, they have a few key differences that set them apart.

In general, the higher the educational qualification, the higher the salary. For example, those with a four-year bachelor’s degree in this field earn an average of $54,552 annually. The highest-paying metro areas include Newark, New Jersey, San Jose-Santa Clara, and Silver Spring, Maryland.