Medical coding jobs consist of working in the insurance billing department of hospitals, doctor's offices, or billing firms translating the doctor's notes into the standard billing codes that are used by the different insurance companies. There is a relatively high demand for this sort of professional, especially as the aging population is generating a lot of work with all the doctor's visits that they need to make. This is a relatively easy career to train for, as there are medical coding schools that offer online courses as well as those the offer classroom based courses.

So what exactly do you learn in medical coding schools? You will take medical coding classes that teach you all about the terminology that medical professionals use, as well as classes on anatomy and pharmacology. This sort of class is important so you will understand what services the doctors have provided to the patients and will be able to select the proper codes for them. Schools should teach you to use ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding. These are the more commonly used numeric and alphanumeric codes for classifying diseases (ICD-9) and procedures (CPT-4). You will also take courses on the various basic and more advanced codes that are used so that you will know how to translate the doctor's services into the codes required by the insurance company. A good medical coding training will teach you how to do this for both outpatient and inpatient records since you will most likely be dealing with both.

There are a couple different types of medical coding schools. Some of them, including many of the online schools, mainly provide you with a one year certificate program. However, it is possible to attend a school that offers a two year associate's degree as well, as this is probably preferable since you will be better prepared and get more practice with this type of program. However, either should be enough to get you started on your new career.

Whichever school you choose, you should make sure that it prepares you to take one of the certificate exams that are available. Most employers prefer to hire people that have become certified. There are a few different certification options available, including the Certified Coding Associate, the Hospital Apprentice Coding Certification, and the Certified Professional Coding - Apprentice certification.