7 Essential Medical Billing and Coding Skills (and Ways to Build Them)

Are you exploring medical billing and coding as a potential career path? Or are you currently in a medical billing and coding program? If you want to know which skills to highlight on your resume or need a reminder on the skills that can help you in a medical billing and coding role, Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) is here to help.

First, let’s talk about how developing medical billing and coding skills can impact your career path.

Why Work on Your Medical Billing and Coding Skills?

If you want to excel in your career, having the right skills to perform your job effectively can help your career progression.¹

Maybe your goal is to become a healthcare manager one day, for example. You could possibly help organizations run efficiently. This may involve creating an effective billing and reimbursement process. Developing your medical billing and coding skills can help prepare you for this job.

Building relevant skills can also boost your performance, your potential, and help you reach your professional goals.² This makes working on your medical billing and coding skills an important step in your healthcare career journey.

7 Skills for Medical Billers and Coders

Here are seven skills that can help you perform medical billing and coding job duties, as well as ways to build them. (If you’re working strictly as a medical biller or medical coder, these same skills still apply.)

#1: Attention to detail

Attention to detail is critical as a medical biller and coder because you must be precise when verifying that patient records are correct, and transform those records into the proper codes. If this data is not recorded or transmitted accurately, it can cause a safety issue for patients.³ Incorrect patient codes can also delay reimbursement to the healthcare provider or medical facility.

To improve your attention to detail:⁴

• Organize your workspace to reduce distractions.
• Make quality work a priority.
• Play games designed to improve your focus.

#2: Written and oral communication skills

As a medical biller and coder, you will communicate with members of the patient’s healthcare team. Effective communication helps ensure that you understand the information you are transferring into medical codes. Strong communication skills are also helpful if you have any questions, so you can present questions in a way that makes it possible to get the answers you need.

To improve your communication skills:

• Focus on what is being said versus thinking about your reply.
• Ask if something is confusing or unclear.
• Restate what the other person said in your own words to verify that you understand.

#3: Medical terminology

Did you know that myo means muscle and itis refers to inflammation? Knowledge of basic medical terminology is a necessity in a medical billing and coding role. You must also understand specific medical billing and coding terms (i.e., downcoding is when an insurance company reduces a provider’s reimbursement rate).

To improve your knowledge of medical terminology:

• Take a medical billing and coding training course.
• Study UMA’s guide to medical billing and coding terminology.
• Develop flashcards to continue to reinforce the definitions of important healthcare terms.

#4: Technology skills

Many medical billing and coding job functions are handled via computers and other electronic technology. Patient information is often stored in an electronic health record (EHR) system, where programs can make it easier to find the proper code for a patient’s medical tests or treatment procedures. The ability to learn and use these technologies can help you perform the duties required.

To improve your technology skills:

• Familiarize yourself with your computer’s functionality.
• Watch tutorials about medical billing and coding technology to learn tips and tricks.
• Take a course to learn more about a specific billing and coding program.

#5: Punctuality

Medical billers and coders are part of the diagnosis-treatment cycle. Being timely and punctual with your assigned responsibilities can aid in the smooth and quick transmission of a patient’s records to other medical providers. If pre-authorization is required from the patient’s health insurance company, being punctual can assist with this as well.

To improve your punctuality:

• Set notifications or automatic reminders so you don’t miss critical deadlines.
• Create a to-do list each morning and work on the most important responsibilities first.
• Communicate with your team members if you’re going to be late to a meeting or are struggling to get your work done on time.

#6: Problem Solving

If there’s a discrepancy in a patient’s records, medical billers and coders need to problem solve or reach out to a person who can. This serves to resolve inconsistencies that might exist, resulting in accurate health records. It can also help reduce time-related delays in treatment or healthcare provider reimbursement.

To improve your problem-solving skills:⁵

• Study how others in the medical billing and coding field resolve common issues.
• Look for opportunities to volunteer, collaborate, or cross-train to increase your exposure to other problem-solving approaches or perspectives.
• Engage in problem-solving exercises to continue building this skill.

#7: Self-management

Although medical billers and coders often collaborate with others in the healthcare field, this role can also be independent and require some level of self-management. The ability to complete your duties on time keeps you on task while staying within set deadlines. This is especially important for billers and coders in remote healthcare positions. They must find a way to stay productive when in an at-home work environment.

To improve your self-management skills:⁶

• Be proactive; take responsibility for your assigned tasks and act upon them.
• Decide which tasks take priority and then set aside the time needed to perform them.
• Find ways to reduce your stress so you have the emotional and intellectual energy to tend to your responsibilities.

Training for Medical Billers and Coders

Having these seven skills can set the stage for a strong career in medical billing and coding. While some of these may come naturally to you, completing an educational program can help build and strengthen the skill sets needed to fulfill a medical billing and coding role.

UMA offers two medical billing and coding program pathways:

1. An online Medical Billing and Coding diploma program that can be completed in 11 months or more⁷
2. An online Medical Billing and Coding Associate of Science/Associate of Appied Science degree program that can be completed in 18 months or more⁷

Both programs include core courses that teach you more about diagnostic coding, procedural coding, medical terminology, and healthcare communication. The associate degree program includes additional degree requirements — such as learning more about computer fundamentals, interpersonal communication skills, and how to work with people — along with a few general education courses.

Completion of each program also helps prepare you to sit for the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certification exam offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), if eligible.⁸ The certification provided by this organization tells potential employers that you have the knowledge and skills needed fora medical biller and coder role.

If you’re interested in learning more about what a career in this position might look like, UMA offers a Medical Billing and Coding Career Guide. This guide explains the role in greater detail, including typical duties, job outlook, training requirements, and more.

FAQs

• What are some hard skills for medical billing and coding? Medical billers and coders must be able to use computers and billing and coding software. They must also be familiar with standard medical coding systems and understand how to find the proper codes for diagnostic, testing, and treatment procedures and services.
• What are some soft skills for medical billing and coding? Attention to detail, communication skills, problem-solving, and self-management skills are all beneficial when working as a medical biller and coder.
• How hard is medical billing and coding? This answer can vary because one person may consider this healthcare career hard while another might think it’s easy. To explore this question in greater detail, check out our blog titled: “Is Medical Billing and Coding Hard?”