Do Medical Coders Have a Recession-Proof Job?
Credit market collapse, bailouts, stock market crash and hurricanes. That pretty much sums up the financial disaster that struck the US in 2008. So what’s hard work to do? Those who still can should think about recession-proof careers and jobs.
Recession-proof jobs are so essential to our society that we cannot do without them. One of those jobs is medical coders. Because? Two important things happen in our society: people live longer and are born more. Keep in mind that the baby boomers (hippie generation) are retiring, but their parents are still alive. Seniors need health care, whether it is preventative or actual health care. So they are making regular visits to clinics and hospitals.
Additionally, in 2007, a record number of babies were born, a number not seen since the baby boom years. Although experts have yet to reveal the sources of birth, one thing is for sure, these babies will require attention. They will also be visiting clinics and hospitals for proper care.
It will be up to medical coders and other health information technicians to accurately record these visits for computer readability and access. Also, medical transcriptionists have the opportunity to work from home. They usually receive their assignments from an agency or directly from a hospital or clinic and take them home to complete.
Another big advantage of medical coders is that they can negotiate their own contract directly with a clinic or hospital as an independent contractor instead of working as an employee. Therefore, the future of jobs in this field is fantastic.
WHAT ARE MEDICAL CODERS
Medical coders are specialists in the field of health information. They organize and assess the accuracy of patient records, collect, prepare, and analyze statistical data, code diseases and operations for insurance purposes, and generally provide quality control.
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNICIAN AND MEDICAL CODER SALARY
The median annual income for health information technicians was $28,030 as of May 2006, according to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top earner won over $45,260.
HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED MEDICAL CODE
Medical coding schools offer classes in health information technology, medical terminology, legal education, anatomy and physiology, statistics, and computer science.
Generally, those who complete their medical coding education will receive an associate’s degree. It is best to become a Registered Health Information Technician through certification from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Medical coder courses and AHIMA certificate preparation classes are available as traditional classes and online.
