Medical Coding

One of my closest friends has a job at a local hospital doing medical coding. I am still of a little fuzzy about what it is that she actually does, but I know it has to do with medical records and patient information.

Though she loves her job, she sees a lot of things that most people do not see. This includes personal information about a lot of people that she knows. It is a good thing that she is an honest person with a lot of integrity, as she would never discuss people’s personal medical problems with anyone else.

She started and medical coding by chance. She was working in the emergency room at the hospital for a very long time, and was even doing some nurses aide work. Though she didn’t mind working in the emergency room, she was unhappy with her work situation. When a position opened up in the medical coding department she jumped at the chance to try. Though she had some trials and tribulations with her new boss, she quickly learned everything she needed to know.

Because she did not have any education and medical coding, the hospital paid for her to take some classes. As her work schedule grew, and her commitments to college courses grew, she found herself more and more at odds with her boss.

In the end, the boss was gone and my friend was the new co-head of the medical coding department. She didn’t start out to take away this woman’s job, but in the end there’s only so much you can take. Though this is an important job, my friend know she was working for woman on an unwarranted power trip.

Though I do not know a lot about medical coding, I do know a little more than I used to. I understand that my friend had to take classes that help her understand parts of the body that I have never heard of. She must be able to recognize many things that most of us have never heard of and it must be second nature to her so she can work quickly. She keeps charts and sometimes billing under control at her hospital.

Medical coding might be thought of it away as data entry for a hospital. Though it may not seem like one of the most important jobs in the hospital, bad things can happen if she is not accurate. This might be a career for somebody with an exceptionally good eye for detail.