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Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Medical Coding Career

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Medical Coding is a growing industry that offers a lot of potential for employers and job seekers alike. For the past few years, this industry has been considered one of the few lucrative job markets. The main task of Medical coders is to apply codes to different healthcare services and procedures and then send them to the insurance companies for payment. Just like any other field, this field also has some advantages and disadvantages that are discussed below, and any firm that wishes to adopt medical coding or any employee who seeks employment in this field must be aware of them.

The primary advantage of this field is the growth rate. Because of the high growth rate, this industry has a high demand for medical coders, and by 2014, it will start to grow faster than the average rate. Thus, it is a lucrative job market for today as well as for the times to come. The second primary advantage of this field is ‘Work from Home’ opportunity. Since most of the employers follow this, the employees have the advantage to work from home conveniently.

Another benefit of medical coding is for the insurance companies who get everything in a specific pattern. The technical language of medicine is converted into an easy language of numbers and codes. Medical coders can specialize in a specific medical field and get a certification for it. They even have opportunities of advancement, depending on their education and continuous trainings etc.

Just like any other field, medical coding also has certain disadvantages. People who want to take up this career must be aware of these disadvantages, so that they can career plan accordingly. First of all, fresh medical coders usually have difficulty in breaking into this industry, since most of the firms have specific experience requirements.

Medical coding might also require you to relocate to another part of the world or another city or state. That way, you might be able to advance in your career but you might have trouble in settling down to a new work and domestic environment.

Medical coding is a relatively new industry, having a lot of potential and scope. However, it must be kept in mind that like any other job market, this market also has certain positives and negatives that an employee has to bear with. People who are considering a career in this field must be aware of these and prepare themselves accordingly.

What are the Top Medical Schools

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Every ambitious and aspiring medical student wants to be accepted into the top medical schools. While it may make no difference which medical school you attend to get your license as an M.D., it does matter in the career and networking opportunities you have after graduation. In this article, we will discuss some of the top medical schools in the United States.

Harvard Medical School — this one tops the list, especially when it comes to research, but is also strong for primary care.

John Hopkins University — as far as US news is concerned, John Hopkins Hospital has been the best in America for the last 17 years in a row.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis — with 115 years of experience and research, education and patient care. Its rich history and in-depth research is sure to help you in your professional career.

Oregon Health and Science — while it’s the only health research university in the state of Oregon, it presents an excellent opportunity to learn about patient care, both for in-state and out-of-state students.

University of Pennsylvania — with an equal commitment to being a leader in patient care, research and education, Penn medicine is an excellent choice for any aspiring doctor. In fact, their goal is to be recognized nationally as the most accomplished and respected school of medicine.

Duke University School of Medicine — Duke University boasts a community of scholars, who are devoted to teaching, research and patient care. In addition, they’re graduating classes averaged 60% less debt than other private medical schools in the nation. In fact, the debt was even less than public medical schools, on average.

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons — the main focus of the College of Physicians and Surgeons is on medical education, which they pour all their resources into. They are an excellent choice for both general and special practice, as well as offering advancement in research, teaching or even administration.

University of New Mexico School of Medicine — the US news, 2007 addition, ranked the University of New Mexico school of medicine as a number two program in the nation for rural medicine, as well as number 10 in the nation for family medicine. In fact, five departments were also ranked in the top 40 in the National Institutes of Health.

In conclusion, consider this list of top medical schools when you consider who to send your application into, it also worth building strong credentials to increase the chances of being accepted into one of these top medical schools.

The Importance of Hospital Billing in the Medical Community

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The medical industry is comprised of many divisions and sections which all work together to offer patients a positive experience. This is true whether services are provided through an emergency care center, doctor’s office or any of the many types of medical help offices available. While many will focus on procedures performed at various hospitals and treatment centers, medical service administrative functions are equally as important, including hospital billing.

Hospital billing brings together charges based upon patient stays or procedures performed at a hospital. By coordinating with doctors’ offices throughout the community, this financial department can ensure a smooth relationship between doctors and patients. Because the medical billing process can be complicated, it is important for all entities involved to check information and avoid any discrepancies the patient might find.

While many hospitals employ their own accounting departments, the practice of outsourcing accounting services has risen over the years. This practice can save money while offering a more streamlined process to keep errors to a minimum. Outside sources work hard to provide state-of-the-art technology that can keep transaction costs down while eliminating problems such as fraud. Finding a service that can balance the complexity of a medical network can be a cost saving option that is valuable in economic down times.

In order to maintain a smooth accounting process, doctors should be willing to coordinate their own billing practices with the medical community. If they choose not to participate, errors might occur due to inconsistencies between accounting sources. Doctors should consider being on the same system as community hospitals in order to experience the best value for money invested.

Many healthcare practice management companies exist to provide integrated accounts receivable services for medical communities. Offering professional services with highly experienced staff and management, they often provide a group package at considerable savings that can encompass the entire community’s needs for consistent accounting and collections. Through proven success with the companies they represent, healthcare billing services enable doctors and medical services to focus on their patients’ needs and provide excellent health care.

Medical accounts receivable services will cover all aspects of hospital billing. This includes insurance transactions and follow-up as well as self-pay with follow-up and third-party payments. All aspects of the process will be scrutinized and followed through so that patients can enjoy a more relaxed experience at potentially trying times. Allowing for a more personal patient/doctor relationship, the right hospital billing service can work with the medical community to put an end to financial headaches while making doctors’ practices and hospitals’ procedures more profitable.

Medical Negligence Why You May Need Legal Representation

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Some of the stories about medical malpractice are so bizarre that it seems that these occurrences could never happen to you or a loved one. The most peculiar cases in recent history involve:

A doctor using a screwdriver to support a mans spine in place of medical grade titanium rods.
A surgeon removing the wrong leg of a patient in a botched amputation procedure.
A patient having a healthy lung removed due to a misdiagnosis of lung cancer.
A patient left on an IV so long that it damaged nerve cells in her ears and made her deaf.

However rare these circumstances may seem, medical malpractice is unfortunately becoming an epidemic in the United States and has been found to cause up to 98,000 deaths per year. The most common of these medical mistakes are medication errors. These drug-related injuries occur in the hundreds of thousands each year and they can result in extra medical costs, loss of wages, permanent disability, emotional trauma and even loss of life.

How do you make sure that an error or negligence does not happen to you? Firstly, the single most important thing is to be actively involved in your own care. Make sure you tell your doctor all your symptoms. Also, ask questions about treatment and testing that may be administered. Telling the doctor about your medical history is beneficial as well, since some hospitals or clinics may not have access to your personal file. When you visit a hospital you may be in a state of illness or debilitation so staying active in your health care may be difficult for you. If that is the case, make sure to bring an advocate who can articulate your needs and scrutinize the path of your care. Coordination and communication between you and your health care team is critical to preventing the avoidable mistakes and to combating negligence.

However, even after precautions, the standards of care may not be upheld or an error may be made. This could cost you or your loved ones dearly. If this happens, negative physical, emotional and financial effects can be compensated in select cases. To determine if a claim is appropriate the patient should contact an attorney with specialized experience in this part of the law. There are local Fort Worth injury lawyers and Fort Worth wrongful death attorneys available to examine your case and determine the next course of action. You can find them through Hart Laws Texas board certified advocates.

How Radiology Technology Helps To Ease The Medical Office Workload

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In decades past, many of the routine tasks associated with the running of a medical facility that offered radiology services had to be performed by hand, because that was the only option available at the time. Now, however, with inexpensive personal computer technology becoming widely available, there has been a shift to moving many of these radiology tasks to a digital environment for ease of use, increased productivity, and cost reductions.

One of the most sought-after pieces of radiology technology is the fully functional PACS system. For those working in a radiology or cardiology department, a Radiology PACS or Cardiology PACS can help with everything from viewing digital images to storing them or distributing them.

The amount of work to process even a single film x-ray is burdensome, and in medical facilities that’s multiplied by hundreds of times throughout the course of a work year. The images need expensive chemicals for developing, which takes time. You have to work with hard copies of film, which must then be handled by humans for filing and archiving, not to mention retrieval of images.

Using cardiology PACS in your cardio unit eliminates all of this extra work. By using the DICOM digital imaging format, images taken from a variety of modalities can all be read by the radiology PACS equipment, and it allows you to view your digital medical images within seconds after taking them, unlike film images.

PACS radiology technology also allows for the storage of DICOM digital images. The PACS appliance can be used as a server to store many terabytes of digital medical information saved in the DICOM format. When there is a need for handling a large volume of studies, the radiology PACS has also been successfully used as a router as well, automating what can be a very cumbersome job of making sure everyone on each patient’s medical team receives the proper information. The servers may be located at the site of your medical facility or offsite, which helps you to stay within HIPPA compliance concerning disaster recovery of medical records.

Using a PACS also make distributing medical records much easier. No longer must you rely on postal mail or couriers to deliver hard copies of patient film x-rays. Instead, you can simply send the proper DICOM digital images to consulting physicians on your local-area network, wide-area network or on a virtual-private network in seconds, greatly improving the productivity of the entire medical system in place, and enhancing patient care at the same time.