It’s easy to be a Certified Medical Billing and Coding. When your organization hires coding talent, be it newly graduated medical professionals or seasoned software developers looking to join a cutting-edge digital healthcare practice, it’s imperative that they join the team and feel right at home from day one. And not just with their new job, but also with their coding environment.
Continuing on how to be a Certified Medical Billing and Coding, with an ever-growing number of emerging medical software platforms and coding standards, it’s becoming increasingly challenging for organizations to find experts in the field who can not only learn new systems quickly and proficiently, but also who understand the intricacies of different coding environments.
To help you stand out from other organizations who are hiring coders in your field, here are some tips on how you can create a thriving code culture from day one and be a Certified Medical Billing and Coding:
Don’t confuse coding culture with corporate culture.
Before you become a Certified Medical Billing and Coding, understand that coding environments can vary greatly, and you must be aware of the differences between the corporate culture and the coding culture of your organization. If the people who make up your organization’s code culture are similar to those who make up your corporate culture, it can be challenging to create a positive coding environment. Corporate culture refers to the values and principles that make up an organization’s culture.
These can vary greatly between organizations, which can make it challenging to create a culture that feels right at your organization. Coding culture refers to the types of environments in which coders work. The way code is written, managed, and maintained can vary greatly depending on the environment in which it is created. If your organization’s code culture is significantly different than your corporate culture, it can be a challenge to create a positive code culture.
Types of Medical Coding Certifications.
As coding environments continue to evolve, it’s important that hiring managers understand what type of certification is being requested from applicants. Some certifications are specific to a certain coding environment, while others are more general and may work with a variety of software platforms.
Certified Professional Coder (CPC)
Certified Outpatient Coding (COC)
Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC)
Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
Certified Medical Coder (CMC)
The type of certification required for an open position will depend on the coding environment used by your organization and the specific requirements of your software. Some certifications may be general and can be used to work in a variety of coding environments, while others are specific to a certain type of software platform. For example, if your organization uses Epic, you would hire an Epic certified coder. On the other hand, if your organization uses Cerner, you would hire a Cerner certified coder.
Make sure new hires feel included.
Creating a thriving code culture can be challenging when you’re hiring new talent, especially if they have been in the industry for some time, and may have had negative experiences with other coding environments. Try to include new hires in all aspects of their team’s work, including building and maintaining code. Ensure that they are included in code reviews, code walkthroughs, and code-related meetings, even if they aren’t a part of the meeting’s content. If possible, arrange a code-training environment for new hires to get a firsthand look at the code-review process that takes place in your organization. This can help new hires to better understand the review process, and also give them an opportunity to observe how other members of their teamwork in the code environment.
What Are the Benefits to Getting Certified?
Career advancement
Ability to work from home
Higher wages
Personal growth
Increased job flexibility
Professional connections
Increased educational opportunities
Certifications are an excellent way to demonstrate your coding expertise and increase your chances of being hired. Certifications can also help you stand out among job candidates who don’t have any coding experience. Certifications demonstrate a level of experience with a certain coding environment, such as those relating to a certain software platform. In addition, certifications can demonstrate your ability to learn new software platforms and levels of expertise with new coding environments. Certifications can be viewed as a form of professionalization and can also be a good way to demonstrate to your organization that you are up to date with the most current coding standards and software platforms.
Provide an inclusive environment for learning.
When you’re hiring new talent, ensure that you are creating an environment that is conducive to a positive learning experience. That means creating an environment in which new hires feel included and can easily access resources that can help them to learn new skills. When hiring coders, look for those who are open to learning new skills and who are willing to be coached on their code. Find candidates who are willing to learn new skills and are willing to accept feedback and be coached on their code. Candidates who are willing to accept feedback and improve positively show that they are willing to learn new skills and therefore make excellent hires.
Create a collaborative workspace for developers.
Code reviews are a key part of the code creation process and can be challenging when they are conducted in a solo environment. When you’re hiring new talent, try to create an open and collaborative workspace for developers. An open workspace is one in which developers are encouraged to communicate and collaborate with each other, regardless of their role in the organization. If your organization uses an open source code environment, such as GitHub, try to make sure that new hires have access to the workspace. It can be challenging for new hires to have the opportunity to learn how to use an open source code environment if they don’t have access to one. Providing access to the workspace for new hires can help them to learn how to use the code environment and can help ensure that your organization has open access to best practices.
Provide regular talk-outs and feedback sessions.
At code walkthroughs, conferences, and meetups, try to make sure that new hires are included in the content. Try to create an environment in which new hires are included in code walkthroughs and conference sessions, whether that’s through presentations or by presenting at the event. Make sure that new hires have the opportunity to attend training sessions and code walkthroughs, and make sure that new hires have the opportunity to present at code walkthroughs and conferences. When you’re hiring new talent, find those who are willing to learn new skills and are willing to accept feedback and be coached on their code.
CCS EXAM
In order to sit for the CCS exam, AHIMA says candidates must meet one of the following requirements:
Applicants must have completed all the courses listed above and have a minimum of two years of coding experience directly applying codes in intermediate, advanced, or ICD code coding. Furthermore, they must hold a coding credential from another certifying organization and one year of coding experience directly applying codes.
Offer salary, equity and benefits as enticements.
At the end of the day, it’s important to keep in mind that certifications are a great way to demonstrate your coding expertise, but they don’t necessarily show how well you may fit in with your new teammates. Certifications can help you gain attention when applying for jobs and show potential employers that you have knowledge in a certain area, but they can’t tell employers how well you will work with your team. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind when hiring new talent that certifications are a great way to demonstrate your coding expertise, but they can’t guarantee that you will have a positive impact on your team.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has outlined a set of core competencies, or essential knowledge, that every practitioner should have to practice medicine in the United States. These core competencies include things like understanding medical terminology, diagnosing common conditions and prescribing medication safely.
While these are all important skills for any healthcare provider to master, they can be especially challenging for doctors who are new to coding. Fortunately, there are some helpful strategies you can implement to help you become a coder sooner rather than later.