by Michelle Conner
Many different people are interested in careers in medicine, however, there is a misconception that one may need extensive collegiate training in order to present themselves as an essential employee in the medical profession. as you look into <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Medical-Coders-Speak-Universal-Healthcare-Language&id=5267798">free online college course</a> details, one area of interest that should be considered is that of a clinical coder. These are the people who are responsible for transcribing medical notes into codes for other doctors and billing agents and this profession does not require years of intensive training.
Clinical coders are office employees who generally are responsible for translating the notes written on medical charts into a universal language for readers of multiple professions and backgrounds. After translating the notes into code, these codes will find their way to other doctors who have the same patient, as well as insurance companies who rely on these codes to pay doctors for their services.
There are four different types of codes that a clinical coder must understand. These are diagnostic, procedural, pharmaceutical and topographical. The last of these, topographical, might be unfamiliar to many. They refer to the anatomical location, as pharmaceutical refer to prescription drugs, procedural refer to specific medical procedures performed, and diagnostic refer to the assessment of a medical problem.
The ICD-9 is the shortened version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. This manual is responsible for housing all of the diagnostic codes for all of the different types of diseases and/or injuries. Doctors use these codes to diagnose physiological problems with a patient and insurance companies use these codes to assess the severity of injuries.
The ICD-9 is not just used for diagnostic coding, however. Procedural codes are also found within this expansive manual. Just like the use of diagnostic coding, procedural coding from the ICD-9 is used by insurance companies to assess the costliness of treating an injury. For doctor's who may not be familiar with a certain patient's case, procedural codes are quite helpful in avoiding using treatment that may not have worked or might even put the patient in more distress.
Pharmaceutical coding is used not only by insurance billers and other doctors, but by pharmacists as well. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes their own manual for pharmaceutical codes. This manual is called the National Drug Codes (NDC). Around the world there is a different system in use, known as the AT (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System.
The last set of codes is called topographical codes. These codes relate to the physical location of a malady on the human body. In the late 19th century there were over 50,000 terms for various physical elements of the human body. In 1998, the latest update of topographical codes was released; it is called the Terminologica Anatomica. This manual replaced the Nomina Anatomica.
The world of clinical coding is for the detail oriented and not for the faint of heart as there are definite consequences in the work of a clinical coder. There is a good bit of training to be undertaken and fortunately much of it can be done through online medical school classes. Students wishing to enter this indispensable part of a growing industry can participate in an online college course program through a <a href="http://www.testdrivecollegeonline.com/">college scholarship</a>.
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New Unique Article!
Title: Online School A Perfect Match For Medical Coders
Author: Michelle Conner
Email: emalone@educationdynamics.com
Keywords: free online college,free college money,free college course,online college course,college course online,free college,college for free,free online college,free college money,free colleges,online medical course,healthcare training,online medical courses,healthcare education,healthcare college
Word Count: 477
Category: College
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