Without a doubt remote medical and billing coding is a growing sector of the health care industry. Hospitals, doctors and health care clinics are moving towards electronic medical records (EMR) at a rapid pace. What the industry is discovering is that by going to EMR their staffing needs are changing as well. The funds that have been reserved by going paperless are meager compared to the money that could be conserved by rearranging the staffing where medical coding and billing is concerned.

The transition to EMR has created less of a need for in-house coders because those records can be transferred electronically to an off-site location for processing. Thus creating a need for educated, efficient remote coders.

Probably you will not be paid an hourly wage, because there isn’t really a time clock that you will use. You’ll more than likely be paid per piece. It may be determined to be part time or full time. There will be an expectation of how many charts you process per hour. For example if you are contracted to work 10 hours, and the expectation is 10 charts an hour, your total work due for the week would be to process 100 charts. There probably will not be flexibility with this.

The coding company you work for should supply you with the necessary software you will use to download, code, and upload the charts. A legitimate company will not ask you for personal information until after it has been confirmed that they will use your services. Some sort of direct deposit will be set up for payment as well.

To keep the remote medical coding companies costs low, you will more than likely be “hired” as an independent contractor. This releases the company from any traditional employee benefits, like collecting your taxes for you, providing health care, retirement, PTO, and other benefits. All of this will be left to you to take care of. While there maybe a contract between you and the coding company, it will not entail any benefits.

For health care facilities and providers, hiring a remote coding company can save you thousands in staffing costs. The funds you save can be more efficiently used in other areas of your practice; more equipment, more medical staff, or better compensation for those already there.

When you are considering what medical coding company to hire, be certain of their privacy policy. You are releasing private, HIPAA protected records to a third party. There can be no error in protecting the privacy of your patients. Ask the coding company how they insure this.

Accuracy in coding means accuracy in compensation from the insurance company. This is your revenue; accuracy is of critical importance to you. As you know human error is unavoidable to a degree, however, it is not unreasonable to expect a 98% accuracy in the coding the company provides you.

To be sure, those hiring a medical and billing coding service will save time and money. For those seeking work from a remote coding company, you will find it to be more flexible than a traditional coding career.

For information on staffing solutions available from Professional Dynamic Network or to inquire about employment opportunities visit our website www.pdnseek.com. If you need further assistance, please call us at 708.747.4361 or email info@pdnseek.com