Category Archives: Uncategorized

AHIMA Certifications: CCA, CCS, RHIA, RHIT

The American Health Information Management Association, known by those in the medical billing and coding field as AHIMA (and also the subject of a previous article) is one of several prominent organizations which offers important certifications. Although these are not …

Certified Professional Coder (CPC) Certification

The Certified Professional Coder (CPC) Certification is offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), the subject of an earlier post. Although the CPC Certification is not required by law, employers can state a preference or requirement that applicants …

The Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist (CMRS) Certification

The Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist (CMRS) Certification is one of several nationally prominent credentials recognized in the medical billing and coding profession, offered through the American Medical Billing Association (AMBA), an organization featured in a previous post. The CMRS, like …

Medical Billing vs Medical Coding

Medical billing and coding professionals ensure health care providers get paid or reimbursed for their services. Billing and coding are two sides of the same coin, both essential for smooth business operations. Medical billing professionals act as the go-between for …

Medical Billing and Coding Bad Habits

Today’s medical billing and coding professionals are under constant pressure and deadlines to work ever faster while improving efficiency. Accuracy and speed are nearly an oxymoron, yet coding professionals can frequently find these in the same sentence of their job …

When Billing Becomes Fraudulent

Over the past decade medical costs have been steadily rising faster than inflation. There are several explanations for this, and logically one could surmise that one of them is upcoding, the practice of a health care provider or medical coder …

Reasons for Rejection

Many medical billing and coding professionals have had the unfortunate experience of having their submissions denied. Contrary to being ashamed, professionals can use these as opportunities to learn from their mistakes, and most employers will forgive the inevitable return provided …

The Dreaded Audit

Question: What can auditors do to liven up a party? Answer: Not show up. While there are plenty of mediocre auditor jokes, it is even less amusing to become the subject of a payer audit. Unfortunately though, for medical billing …