The certified medical coder’s future is bright, thanks to healthcare reform, an aging U.S. population and cutting-edge technologies. An AAPC Certified Professional Coder is poised to benefit from the 22 percent employment surge reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The coders who will benefit the most from these statistics are the ones trained in “ICD-10.”

The federally mandated switch from ICD-9, the current 36-year old system of coding for diseases, diagnoses and clinical procedures has created a shortage in medical coders. Implementation of the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, or ICD-10, was extended past the original deadline of fall 2014 until October 1, 2015.

Employment Statistics Reveal Medical Coding as Rising Career in Healthcare

Switching from ICD-9 to a much more complex system (ICD-10 has 140,000 codes, a jump from the 17,000 codes of its predecessor) is affecting productivity by as much as 50 percent! Employee turnover is expected to rise also, as some plan to retire rather than learn ICD-10.

A medical coder’s job is translating all the details of a patient’s record into codes used by insurance companies to determine how much they reimburse a doctor’s office or hospital. Coders are crucial to their healthcare employer’s bottom line, and as a result, healthcare staffing agencies are now urgently recruiting coders.

At Team1Medical Staffing, we know healthcare employers are incentivized to pay top salaries to medical coders fluent in ICD-10; this is in anticipation of a 20-30 percent shortage now, and a projected 50 percent deficit by 2015! Many healthcare employers expect to double their medical coding workforce over the next year, and “contract out” medical coders to do work for hospitals and doctors’ offices.; When you contract out as a medical coder, it means you can work from home, an appealing option for those who lead busy family lives, or simply want to work on their own terms!

How to Become a Top Earning Medical Coder with Team1Medical

Team1Medical is Houston’s top recruiting firm for medical coding. Our recruiters are actively looking for medical coding professionals who meet the following criteria:

• Understand medical terminology, anatomy and physiology
• Know health data requirements and standards/classification and coding systems
• Familiar with healthcare reimbursement methods and Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• 700 to 1,000 hours of coursework in physiology, anatomy and pharmacology
• AAPC certification in one or more of these areas: hospital outpatient; hospital inpatient; payer perspective coding; professional billing; medical auditing; medical compliance or physician practice management

Here is a sampling of the many great medical coding job opportunities we have:

• Certified Professional Coder – Houston, TX
• Certified Professional Coder/Auditor – Houston, TX
• Professional ER Coder – Houston, TX

For a complete listing of our medical employment opportunities in the Houston area, browse our job openings today. We look forward to partnering with you in your career!