If you are thinking about taking a course in Medical Billing and Coding or are already in a course or working in the field, then you should be thinking about becoming a Certified Professional Coder with the American Academy of Professional Coders.

Certifications allow medical billers and coders to validate their knowledge and expertise in various medical environments. It will also help you earn approximately 20% more than non-credentialed coders, according to the American Academy of Professional Coders.

These credentials are nationally recognized by employers, physician societies and government organizations.

Being credentialed may also give you and your employer more confidence in your ability to capture lost revenue for the payment risk and protect their practice from unfavorable audits.

As a credentialed billing and coder, doors may open up for you faster in:

•  Physician offices or groups

•  Hospital-associated physician offices or groups

•  Health system-associated physician offices or groups

•  Home health agencies

• Physician groups at a university and or in a teaching setting

•  Compliance auditors or forensic auditors of physician claims

•  Physician billing services

•  Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC)

•  Outpatient hospital services not reimbursed by Ambulatory Patient Category (APCs) groups

•  If you are a consultant, educator, legal counsel, physician or other care-giver seeking a credential to demonstrate your command of outpatient medical billing and coding for physician services.

So get certified today if you are working in the field. If you are taking a course, be sure to take the certification exam shortly after your course is complete. There are also preparatory classes offered to help you prepare for the certification examination. Do it for yourself. This is a great accomplishment and will bring much more value to your degree.

Which office chairs provide the back support you need during long workdays at your desk? Here are some must-have features that are recommended by Chiropractor Dr. Rodney K. Lefler on Spine-Health.com:

• The seat height should adjust easily, allowing you to sit with your feet flat on the floor and your arms even with the desk surface.

• The seat should tilt, and should be deep enough to let you sit with your back against the backrest.

• There should be a lumbar support that adjusts for both height and depth, so you can find a setting that supports the inward curve of your lower back.

• The backrest should be adjustable for both angle and height.

• The fabric should be breathable, and padding should be thick enough to provide comfort during long periods of use.

• Armrests should be adjustable up and down, so your arms can rest comfortably on them while your shoulders are relaxed.

• Swiveling should be easy, so you can turn easily to reach different articles in your work area.

For more information on picking the desk chair that is best for your back, watch Watch Your Back, a video from Spine-Health.com.

Those are the basics. But which chairs fill the bill? You’ll find reviews of popular models online at ConsumerSearch.com and at Galt Home.

Buying a good chair for a great price . . .

Consider buying a used desk chair. Due to the current wave of company downsizings, lots of used office furniture is currently available – some at liquidation prices. To find a company that sells used office equipment in your area, visit the Yellow Pages online or search online for “used office equipment.”

After hours of working on your computer do you find that your wrists are sore and tired? If you are planning on entering a career in medical billing and coding, wrist fatigue could be a huge factor in preventing you from working efficiently. Medical Billing and Coding Blog has outlined the key medical problem associated with wrist fatigue, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndome?

According to WebMD, Carpal tunnel syndrome “occurs when the median nerve becomes pinched due to swelling of the nerve or tendons or both. The median nerve provides sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index, middle fingers, as well as the inside half of the ring finger and muscle power to the thumb. When this nerve becomes pinched, numbness, tingling and sometimes pain of the affected fingers and hand may occur and radiate into the forearm.”

What causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and what are its symptoms?

While there are several possible causes of the disorder, normally it springs from repeated movement of the arms, wrists or hands, often times by typing at a computer for long hours. If you work long days on a computer and your hands and/or fingers feel tingly or numb at night, or if you experience a burning or shooting pain up your forearm, you could have a case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

According to WebMD, to prevent this wrist fatigue disorder you can:

• Sleep with your wrists straight or use a splint.
• Keep your wrists straight when using tools but try not to use splints.
• Avoid flexing and extending your wrists repeatedly.
• Perform conditioning and stretching exercises.

How Can I Cure Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

There are a few methods to resolve your issues with wrist fatigue, or carpal tunnel syndrome: anti-inflammatory drugs can be taken to bring the swelling down and relieve the stress in your wrist ligaments/tendons, or you can also try and immobilize your wrist at night in a splint or wrap. If these conservative measures don’t work, then there is a surgical option where a doctor can manually cut the affected ligament to relieve the stress. Surgery is very effective at relieving wrist fatigue, but being aware of the causes of the syndrome is crucial for long term relief.

It is very important for any aspiring or current biller and coder to be aware of the above information. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can be incredibly harmful to anyone preparing for, or currently in, a billing and coding career. For more information on preventing and treating this type of wrist fatigue, visit WebMD for more details.

“Hot Jobs: Medical Coders Are in Great Demand,” an article by Scott Andron in The Miami Herald, reports encouraging news about the growing need for medical billers and coders in Florida.  “Health information management might be for you, and a job as a medical coder might be the place to start,” Andron writes.

The Miami Herald is not the only publication that is optimistic about opportunities for medical billers and coders in Florida. According to Orlandojobs.com’s Employment Outlook for Central Florida report, healthcare jobs are among the fastest growing employment opportunities in Florida. The report points to fast-growing opportunities for physical therapists, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, medical coders and medical billers.

What’s driving this growth? One significant force is the construction of new medical facilities in the state. One of the more promising could be the planned “medical city” in Orlando’s Lake Nona area. According to a recent article in The Orlando Business Journal, the development of this medical and research park has the potential to create 30,000 high-paying jobs in just a decade.

So, is Florida a good place to start and grow your career as a medical biller and coder? It certainly seems to be. We’ll be watching the trends in Florida and other states in the coming months and reporting on them here.

This is a wonderful and exciting time to be entering the allied health field.  No matter what work setting you are in, allied health professionals are in demand.  As costs continue to rise, there are greater demands for improved quality and safety in patient care.  To tackle these problems, the U.S. healthcare system is turning to technology.

Why do allied health students need to know about electronic medical records? The answer is simple – because you will use electronic health records to accomplish tasks once on-the-job.  The transition from paper records to electronic health records affects everyone working in health care today.  Consider just a few examples of the changes electronic health records bring to these jobs:

• Medical assistants enter patient information, such as vital signs, into the electronic health record.
• Coding professionals review electronic documentation in the electronic health record to determine the appropriate code for an encounter.
• Technicians working in blood and chemistry labs, radiology, nuclear medicine, cardiovascular medicine and other areas respond to electronic orders and send test results electronically using an electronic health record.
• Billing professionals use information in the electronic health record to prepare insurance claims and patient statements.

As you can see, many allied health careers require the use of computers, and because of this, there is great demand for graduates to have a background in healthcare as well as experience with computers.  In addition, employers are seeking individuals who are capable of operating within a constantly changing work environment.

To be successful, workers must be willing and able to learn new things throughout their career.  In addition to education, certification from a nationally recognized organization, such as the American Academy of Professional Coders, brings more employment and advancement opportunities.

Are you currently working or planning to work from home? Are you concerned about the huge amounts of data that are piling up on your home computer? Billing and Coding Blog has outlined some of the best data backup systems, and their benefits for home-workers.

Carbonite – This online data backup system installs a small application on your computer that automatically backs up data on your computer for only $54.95 per year. This price remains the same regardless of how much data you need to back up! Carbonite goes to sleep when you are active on your computer, and the software only works while your computer is idle; this ensures that you never lose any speed or functionality while you work! Click here for more information and to start your free trial.

Other online storage services to consider: VaultLogix, Data Deposit Box

External Hard-Drives – These serve as extensions of your computer’s hard drive and are available in a variety of sizes and prices, depending on how much data you need to backup. Depending on the speed of your computer, and the size of your hard drive, backing up your data could be a time consuming process. Also, if you lose the hard drive – which can be as small as a wallet – all your data will be gone.

Click here to read PC World’s list of the Top 10 External Hard Drives

CD/DVD – This is the cheapest available option, and since most PCs are now equipped with CD burners, there are few obstacles in getting started. Since this is the cheapest option, however, there are some concerns; it can take considerable time and discs to backup large drives, and CDs can be easily scratched and ruined without proper caution. If you only need to backup a little bit of crucial data, and are confident in your care for the discs, then CD/DVD may be your best option for data backup.

Do you have any advice on the best data backup options? Please leave us a comment and let us know what has worked for you!

What is the best way to keep your eyes and your vision in tip-top shape, despite long hours at the computer?  Here’s some advice from Dr. Suzanne Offen, an optometric physician and founder of Offen Eye Associates . . .

Remember, your reading glasses might not be right for computer use. “When people are reading, they typically hold books or magazines about 16 inches away from their eyes,” Dr. Offen explains. “Compare that to 24 inches, which is the typical distance from a computer screen.” Her advice: You might need a separate prescription for the glasses you will use at your computer.

Turn down your office illumination. Dr. Offen states that if you are using a computer, you should keep your office illumination only one-half as bright as you would keep it for other office duties. “This is one of the biggest mistakes that computer-users make,” she states. “And it can really contribute to eye strain and fatigue.”

Avoid using older computer monitors. “Most new flat-screen monitors already cut glare,” Dr. Offen states. “But if you have to use an older monitor, equip it with an anti-glare screen.” Also: To further reduce eye strain, don’t locate your computer near a bright window.

Review your prescription if you wear contact lenses. First, you might need a different prescription if you work at your computer for extended periods. But there’s another reason too. “Many computer users complain of eye dryness,” Dr. Offen states, “which happens because people generally blink less often when they are using a computer. If you wear contact lenses, this problem can often be helped by changing to a lens for users who complain of dry eyes.”

Take breaks. “I recommend that computer-users take one 20-minute break every two or three hours,” Dr. Offen says.

Dr. Suzanne Offen is a board certified optometric physician in New York and New Jersey. She received her Doctor of Optometry from the State University of New York and has been practicing optometry since 1983. She began her practice in 1987 in Westfield, New Jersey. In 1988 Dr. Offen became certified as a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and became board certified in children’s vision.

“I love my kids and they deserve my time,” says Toni K, a woman who is studying online to become a medical biller and coder. “But I feel like I never get any uninterrupted time to sit down and concentrate on my lessons. The kids are always banging on my door, and then I feel guilty if I get irritated at them. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?”

We posed this question to Dr. Kenneth Ruge, a therapist who has written several books, including Where Do I Go from Here?

“Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem,” Ruge states. “Overall, I would say that it is best to get out of the house, if you can. Get to Starbucks, for example. However, when kids reach age seven or eight, they might enjoy doing their own homework while a parent is studying – it can become a family study period that kids will actually enjoy. And kids can feel good if they know they are helping a parent reach important goals.”

Here are more ideas we gathered from people who have learned how to juggle studying with parenting duties:

Make sure your technology is not limiting you. If your only computer is a desktop at home, maybe a laptop would let you study over lunch hours at work. And laptops can now be bought for $400 or even less. Another solution? Print out your online lessons and carry them with you. Remember, paper is portable.

Look for uninterrupted time. Many home learners report that it can be better to get up an hour earlier in the day – or stay up after kids have gone to bed – than to try to keep kids from interrupting during early evening hours. “It might not be easy to get up an hour before your kids on a weekday, but it can be worth it,” Ruge suggests.

Utilize small blocks of time. “Find a few minutes of free time here, and a few minutes of free time there,” suggests Barry Lenson, author of Good Stress, Bad Stress. The result can be up to an hour of “found” time that can depressurize evenings at home.

Have you found ways to keep your kids from ruining your study time? If so, please share your ideas here, by responding to this post.

With so many distractions and the comfort of your home as major obstacles, working or studying from home can be a difficult course to pursue. That is why Medical Billing and Coding blog has developed a list of time management tips for remote learners, to help you work efficiently from home. Remote learning is not for everyone, but if you follow these simple tips, it is possible for anyone.

Set clear goals – Each day you should have a list of tasks/assignments that you will complete. If you set a clear list of deliverables for each work day, you will have an easier time working to reach those goals. The biggest mistake you can make is to procrastinate, and push work off for another day; all this will do is slow you down, let your work load pile up, and make you far less efficient.

Limit Distractions – In any work environment, distractions can limit productivity. This is magnified when you are working or studying from home; you might have to worry about walking your dog, or picking up your mail, or answering to your kids, among other potential disruptions. To avoid these diversions you should isolate yourself in your home, in a designated “work” area. While you are working, make it clear to your children that you are busy, and ignore all phone calls, doorbells, and enticing TV programming.  Don’t attempt to multitask; your designated work time is for working only, and nothing else.

Establish Specific Work Hours – If you are working from home it is easy to procrastinate and say “I will get to this later”; this is a bad habit! Create a specific time frame each day dedicated to work. Whether it be 9 AM – 5 PM, 12 PM – 8 PM, or 6 PM – 3 AM, establishing specific work hours is crucial to remaining productive and getting your work done in a timely fashion. Your friends and family should be familiar with your work hours, to ensure you are not bothered when you should be working.

Dress for the Job – Rather than sitting around in your favorite pair of sweatpants, you should dress like you are in a classroom or workplace. Your mindset is the most important aspect of time management; if you are dressed to work, then you will most likely work. If you are dressed to relax, then you will most likely relax

Here’s a question for medical billers and coders . . .

Exactly when did your career start?

If you stop to think about it, you will probably realize that your career didn’t begin when you got your first job.  It actually started on the day when you walked into a classroom and began your training.

It only makes sense that great students tend to have an easier time starting their careers.  Their strong grades often give them an edge over other job-seekers. They tend to get better recommendations from their former instructors too.

So how can you be a training standout?  Here’s some advice:

Dress one step ahead. If you dress like a working professional, people will see you in that role – and will think of you first when professional opportunities arise.

Project a positive attitude – even in early-morning classes. Stand tall when you walk into the classroom. Greet the instructor. Smile, sit up, and maintain eye contact as you listen to what your instructor has to say. Then thank the instructor when class is over.

Keep your textbooks and course materials organized, protected and clean. It shows that you are taking your training seriously. Also: Never forget your course materials. But if you do, avoid calling attention to the problem.

Be a great colleague in shared activities and projects. If you show that you are a good team member, people will notice and remember you.

Show strong interest in everything you learn. One good way? Ask questions that dig for information that was not covered in class.

Don’t disappear when your coursework is over. Come back to visit your former instructors. Explain how you are applying the skills you learned in class, and talk about your new achievements. Remember, students who keep in touch come to mind first when instructors hear about new opportunities.

Do you have more training strategies to recommend? Why not take a moment to share them here with other members of the billing and coding community?