Effective Home Based Medical Coder

Medical coding is certainly ripe to follow suit. And in fact, the work at home trend is beginning to catch on in the medical coding industry.

Currently hundreds of medical coders are working from home quite effectively. As this trend picks up steam over the coming months and years look for more and more employers to offer this medical coding work at home option to their more reliable coders.

Working from home as a medical coder basically requires that the home based medical coder is granted remote access to the hospital or clinic centralized medical coding system. Technology continues to evolve allowing additional safeguards to secure confidential patient and financial information.

The Home Based Medical Coding Model

Traditionally, medical coding has been a profession that has required medical coders to be present in the hospital or clinic where services are performed. And in truth, this is still largely the expectation of employers.

However, it should be noted that the technology to allow medical coders to work from home has been around for some time. Resistance to the home based medical coding model has typically come from entrenched bureaucrats within hospital systems who have become accustomed to the idea of complete control over the coding process. Some of this is understandable.

But professional managers should take some queues from the medical transcription industry which has successfully transformed itself to a home based production model while adding incredible efficiency to the production process.

Why I Want to Work from Home

Let's face facts. Most people dream of the possibility of working from home. The work at home option is appealing for so many reasons: flexibility, lack of commute, more time with family, working at your own pace and on your own schedule, being able to attend to personal matters at scheduled breaks, easy access to the refrigerator, and so many more…

Evaluating THE Medical Coding Salary

There are a couple of things to be aware of in evaluating medical coding salary and wage information.

1. Certified Medical Coders earn on average 17% more than non-certified medical coders, according the AAPC medical coding salary survey.

2. There is a very solid career path for medical coding professionals. Wages increase with responsibility and advanced certification. According to the AAPC Salary Survey, a full eight percent of medical coders possessing a specialty credential earned in excess of $85,000 per year.

3. Longevity and experience in the medical coding profession pay dividends, according to the 2007 AAPC Medical Coding Salary Survey. Medical coders with an entry level credential and one year or less of experience earn an average of $25,000 - $30,000 per year. Medical coders with 18 or more years of experience earn an average of 70% to 80% more: $45,000 - $50,000 annually.

It Figures! Medical Coding Salary Survey Says…

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) publishes an annual survey of medical coding wage and salary information.

The 2007 medical coding salary survey contains the following information:

Average Medical Coding Industry Annual Salary by Title:
Medical Coding Specialist: $30,000 - $35,000
Medical Coding Professional: $30,000 - $35,000
aMedical Coding Manager: $40,000 - $45,000
Medical Billing Manager: $35,000 - $40,000
Medical Coding Audit Specialist: $40,000 - $45,000
Medical Coding Compliance Manager: $55,000 - $60,000
Medical Records Supervisor: $40,000 - $45,000
Administrator: $85,000 +

The Good News for Potential Medical Coders

Obviously, no discussion of the medical coding job outlook is complete without medical coding salary and wage information. Fortunately, there is a lot of good news to report regarding medical coding salaries.

The Department of Labor tracks wages and salaries for a very large number of occupations; this includes medical coding salary and wage information. The most recent published Dept. of Labor statistics suggest that the mean salary for medical coders is about $32,000 per year. The important thing to remember here is the term “mean” or average. There is obviously far more to the story.