According to Indeed.com, the state of Florida has added an average of over 575 new Medical Billers and Coders each year since 2007. This demand is expected to continue as, according to the Sun Sentinel, federal government standards set in place in 2010 require all doctors to use electronic medical records for all patients. Medical billers and coders log patients’ diagnoses, visits, prescriptions and medical record prevision to other providers and insurance companies. At present, just 20 percent of Florida’s physicians are using electronic medical records in all aspects of their practice. As the trend towards complete compliance by 2015 continues, the demand for trained medical billing and coding professionals in Florida will rise even faster.
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The state is currently home to over 11 thousand medical billers and coders, growing as high as 10 percent per year in many parts of the state. With starting salaries for trained professionals at over $34,000 annually, Florida is a great place to get started. Many professionals with experience can earn more than $55,000 annually in many areas, especially in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa metropolitan areas. Comparatively, Florida’s starting salaries are commensurate with the national average and slightly higher than those in the region, above Georgia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Carolinas.
Florida’s Medical Billing and Coding Schools
Florida has a number of schools with campus locations in all regions of the state. Institutions such as University of Phoenix and Central Florida University as well as a number of excellent online programs, with degrees and certifications including Associate of Science in Medical Office Administration, Medical Coding and Billing Diploma, Medical Coding and Billing Technical Diploma and Medical Information Coder & Biller Applied Certificates. Programs range from 12-week certificates to four-year degree programs in Medical Billing and Coding, health care administration, health care technology and more.
A syllabus for a typical two-year degree program curriculum for a Medical Billing & Coding focus in health care administration, technology or management would generally include the following courses:
- Medical Records Management
- Medical Insurance
- ICD-9 Coding
- Computerized Medical Office Management
- CPC Exam Preparation
- Inpatient/Outpatient Coding
- Anatomy
- Computer Software
- CCA certification exam Preparation
- CPC-A certification exam Preparation
- Florida State AAPC CPC Exam Preparation
Florida Work Environment
Most Florida Medical Billing and Coding graduates will find themselves working for a health care provider or insurance company. Since health care is provided across the entire state, jobs for medical billing and coding are located in just about every city and town in Florida, large or small. Salaries will fluctuate slightly, but the demand is nearly universal. The most common areas of employment are listed below:
- Physician’s Offices
- Insurance Companies
- Hospitals
- Outpatient clinics
- Mental Health Facilities
- Chiropractic Clinics
- Assisted Living Facilities
Find Medical Billing and Coding programs in the following cities: Daytona Beach, Sarasota, Jacksonville, Miami, Dade County, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Tampa / St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Lakeland / Winter Haven, Crestview / Fort Walton Beach / Destin, Gainesville, Naples, Key West, Pensacola, Orlando / Kissimmee.
Medical coding and billing at Florida
Florida is amongst the famous holiday destinations in the States. The beaches in Florida and the excellent connectivity to different parts of the world with close to 19 commercial airports is just amazing. 19 commercial airports in the state means better chances for tourism, better job opportunities in the sector of aviation, hospitality, airlines, and other related fields. Apart from this, industries like agriculture, international trade, life sciences or research industry, etc., are doing well to create job options and keep the economy steady.
What are some unknown facts about Florida?
Florida is by the way home to many rich individuals and families. Being a tax-exempt state, it is one of the best and peaceful retirement destinations for the wealthiest of the country. These led to the establishment of financial services offerings throughout the state. When it comes to servicing the rich, the class and level of these financial services must be in a different magnitude hence, the branches and operations of financial services are next to the headquarter level here contributing further to better job opportunities. Currently, the finance sector only employs close to a million Florida residents.
This is also due to the incentive of Florida being a tax-exempt state, where the concept of sales tax exists but not income tax for the state sourced earnings. The amount of job opportunities created in tourism and agriculture is way beyond the job opportunities generated by the financial services. So, there is some serious employment scope in Florida in varied sectors and it keeps growing every year. Florida has one of the best rates of job creation throughout the States, which is even more amazing.
Challenges and other professional career options
Natural environmental hazards are one of the key challenges in the Florida. Being closely situated to beaches provides opportunities for tourism but can cause several other risks to hazard like Cyclone, Flood, etc. With cyclone almost affecting major of Florida every alternate year, many businesses are worried for the time and resource lost as it results to a downtime for over a month. This environmental challenge which almost results in re-location of people and resources for some time is a concern for many businesses in Florida.
This calls for a rather stable career alternatives that can keep you employed irrespective of the locality. Medical billing and coding can be a viable choice for people looking from the long-term perspective. Many entry level jobs have become contract based due to the environmental hazard reasons and during storm or cyclone people are deprived of income and may work elsewhere for their necessities. The wide popularity of medical coding and billing throughout the States and consistent opportunities available throughout the country can do a lot of good to people looking to begin their professional careers in Florida.
What can you do?
The average salary in Florida is $40,000 for entry level jobs, while medical coding and billing average through the country is $50,000. Any medical insurance company, healthcare centre, hospitals would be interested in hiring a medical coder or biller. There are several opportunities across United States for them during all times of the year. It isn’t very difficult to become eligible for this profile from your existing one.
There are many institutes in your city of Florida near you which can offer you skill and technology training to make you eligible for a medical coding and billing profile. It isn’t that time consuming or long and isn’t expensive too. So, what are you waiting for, use the search option now and get your professional career a great start.