Why are coders needed? Why don’t doctors and nurses just assign codes while treating patients?
Coders play a critical role in assuring an accurate transfer of billing data submitted to insurance companies for reimbursement and/or payment for medical services rendered. This information is also accumulated and utilized in quantitative national health care research in order to profile physicians, identify trends, and future strategies to achieve healthcare cost containment, and adequate staffing patterns. If such information was either missing or incorrect, national data the medical profession and government depend upon to make important decisions about insurance coverage, patient outcomes, and government spending would be flawed. As one of the fastest growing careers in one of the fastest growing industries, a coding or HIM career places you right where the expanding arena of healthcare meets the cutting edge of technology.
