Top 25 Medical Billing and Coding Blogs
Medical billing and coding is a growing career opportunity in the healthcare field. The work, in a nutshell amounts to ensuring that healthcare providers correctly charge for all legitimate services rendered, and that patients do not get over billed.
This work is part of what the US BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) labels Medical Records and Health Information Technicians category. The BLS estimates the category as growing at a rate of 22% in terms of job outlook between 2012 and 2022 — which is roughly 41,100 new jobs in that time period. However, with the federal government-mandated switchover on Oct 1, 2015, in the United States to the ICD-10 coding system (in use in other countries for up to 20 years already), there may in fact be many more jobs. With a growing number of mobile and web apps analyzing health data, the opportunities are greater. for someone with the appropriate knowledge.
In general, it’s more important than ever for physicians / healthcare providers, medical billers and coders and other interested parties to stay on top of any information about medical billing and coding. This collection of blogs collectively provides news/ updates, tips, opinions/ reflection, resources, reviews and more about medical coding and billing. Whatever your interest, the blogs covered in this list are a good place to start. Some of the blogs listed here focus purely on medical billing and coding, whereas others cover a broader range of topics, especially in terms of medical billing for a healthcare practice.
NOTES:
- MBCS = Medical Billing and Coding Specialist.
- MBCC = Medical Billing and Coding Certification.
- MICB = Medical Insurance Coding and Billing.
- Check AHIMA (American Health Information Management Assocation) for accredited Medical Billing and Coding schools before signing up for any program.
- The ICD-10 coding system is scheduled to come into effect in the United States on Oct 1, 2015, at the time of writing. However, history has shown multiple delays, so the date is possibly subject to change
25. Meditec Blog
Meditec, part of 360training.com, focuses on educating students primarily in the medical/ healthcare field. While the main site covers more than medical coding and billing, there are some articles in this category worth reading. Recent relevant blog posts include:
- Resume Tips for Medical Billers and Coders, which offers tips on building an effective resume for a medical coding and billing career.
- Medical Coders and Billers To Be Replaced by Software and Technology or Outsourced?, reflects on the career opportunities of future medical billing and coding professionals.
24. HBMA Public News
HBMA (Healthcare Billing and Management Association) is an organization whose members are medical billing companies – roughly under 50% of such companies in the United States, although reputedly representing “nearly 80% of claims submitted by third party medical billing companies.” In addition to the public news, the main site offers a large set of tools and resources for medical billing companies. The news covers announcements of talks, conferences, symposiums, webinars, initiatives and other information relevant to medical coding and billing.
23. AAPC News
AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) has the objective of educating and certifying physician-based medical coders. In addition to the news blog, the main site has links for training and certification, continuing education, jobs, networking, resources, coding books, ICD-10 information and more. Recent blog posts include:
- Attention Coders! Why You Should Seek a Coding Certification, wjocj discusses the career and monetary benefits of being a certified coder.
- ICD-10-CM Coding Tips: Signs and Symptoms, which provides some tips on general ICD-10 coding guidelines for signs and sypmptons in the absence of a confirmed diagnosis.
22. ReimbursementMD Blog
Healthcare Information Services (HIS) is self-described as a “physician management company that specializes in revenue cycle solutions, management, and consulting services,” with a focus on radiology and orthopedics. Services include medical transcription, practice management consulting, ICD-10 preparedness consulting and education and more. Recent ReimbursementMD blog posts include:
- Revenue Cycle Management and Contract Compliance: How to Analyze your Payment Variances, which offers advice on what to look for when incoming payments vary and to determine why.
- 2015 CPT Coding Changes and how it can affect your radiology practice , which covers some of the CPT coding changes in 2015, what to look for specifically, and how your radiology practice may be affected.
- How the 2015 CPT Coding Changes can effect your Orthopedic Practice, which similarly covers CPT coding changes in 2015 for orthopedic practices.
21. CrystalVoxx Blog
CrystalVoxx offers medical billing and coding consulting to physicians, medical transcription services, and accounting and payroll solutions. Recent blog posts include:
- Why To Hire Medical Billing And Coding Companies- The Benefits At A Glance, which covers some of the advantages of outsourcing medical coding and billing tasks.
20. Coder Coach
Coder Coach is the blog of Kristi Pollard, who has multiple certifications and is a senior consultant for Haugen Consulting Group. Her day job includes teaching medical coding, developing course curriculum, and conducting audits. She also has a number of speaking engagements in 2015. While her work covers both ICD-9 and ICD-10, her blog focuses more on ICD-10 information and resources, due to her more recent experience as a trainer and task force member (Colorado) for ICD-10. Recent blog posts include a three–part series reviewing books of interest to medical coders and billers, and covering ICD-10, HCPCS/ CPT and other coding systems and subsets.
19. Practice Management Blog
PracticeSuite is a publisher of software for revenue cycle management. In addition to their Practice Management blog, the main site presents products and solutions (which includes a free version of their software), and resources for learning and implementing ICD-10. Recent blog posts include:
- 3 Things to Consider When Choosing Medical Billing Software, which covers what you should look for, feature- and platform-wise, in medical billing software.
- Is Your Practice Ready for ICD-10?, which offers some thoughts on determining if you are ready for ICD-10 and how to go about getting ready.
- Advantages You Can Gain With Free Medical Billing Software, which highlights the advantages to using free medical billing software.
18. CareCloud Blog
CareCloud offers Cloud (Web)-based healthcare tools for physicians and other providers. Their blog is primarily physician focused and covers various topics including medical coding and billing. Recent blog posts include:
- 3 Advantages to Outsourcing Your Medical Practice Revenue Cycle, which reviews a white paper that covers the advantages of outsourcing medical billing and collections, and how to avoid the changeover to ICD-10 affecting practice revenue.
- 5 Medical Billing Mistakes that the Most profitable Practices Avoid, offers five types of medical billing mistakes to avoid, in order to increase a practice’s profit.
- Infographic: Shining Light on the Leaks in the Claims Process, which presents a CareCloud infographic detailing where money is often lost in the medical billing claims process, how much, and implicit suggestions on how to plug the leaks.
17. MedAdvantage Resources Medical Coding & Billing Blog
MedAdvantage Resources offers medical coding training, CPC prep, a medical terinology and anatomy course, onsite training and more. Their Medical Coding and Billing blog focuses on the process of becoming a medical coder, deciding on a coding school, the types of testing you will need to pass, and what to expect working in the field. Recent blog posts include:
- Do You Need a College Degree to Become a Medical Coder?, which discusses education options for aspiring medical coders and billers.
- The Importance of Choosing an Accredited Online Medical Coding School, which points out some of the relevant career paths based on certifcation, and tips on choosing a school.
- Learning Medical Coding in 2015, which discusses the changes that CPC (Certified Medical Code) professional will need to learn, what the work entails, and some trends in medical coding.
16. Shimcode – ICD-10 Impact
Shimcode.com is a blog focusing on the impact of the ICD-10 coding system upon healthcare payers and providers. Recent blog posts include:
- What if Diner’s Paid Their Restaurant Bill with Their Health Insurance?, speculates on what it would be like if restaurant goers paid their bill in a similar fashion to health insurance, to point out the complexity of the medical billing.
- ICD-10 Conversations – Almost Every Day of the Week!, which points out the wealth of online conversations about ICD-10, for those who are interested in learning more.
- ICD-10 Codes in Non-Claim HIPAA Transactions, discusses some ICD-10 codes associated with less commonly used HIPAA transactions.
15. MedicalBillersandCoders.com Blog
MedicalBillersAndCoders.com is a medical billing services and practice management consulting company that covers multiple medical specialties. In addition to their Medical Billing Blog, the main site has information about revenue cycle management, ICD-10 and more.
14. ICD10monitor.com News
ICD10monitor, part of Panacea Healthcare Solutions, Inc., is a site dedicated to the ICD-10 coding system. In addition to the multi-author blog, the main site offers news, resources, webcast classes, a weekly podcast, featured videos, training materials under the banner of “ICD University,” Recent blog posts include:
- ICD-10-PCS Coding of Significant Procedures not Performed in the Operating Room, which discusses some ICD-10 codes for important procedures performed during inpatient stay but not in the operating room.
13. Everest College – Medical Billing and Coding Blog
Everest College is a collection of campuses offering career (academic and practical) training in a number of fields — one of which is medical billing and coding. The school’s Medical Billing and Coding blog articles cover career advice, HIPAA, study tips, salary information and more. Recent blog posts include:
- Understanding Your Medical Bill, which discusses how much of healthcare costs are due to fraud and medical billing errors.
- The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Your Medical Billing Career, which discusses the importance of understanding HIPAA privacy rules as a medical billing and coding specialist.
- Top 10 Reasons to Train for a Medical Billing and Coding Career, which provides a list of good reasons to consider a medical coding and billing career.
12. Medical Billing and Coding Blog
The Medical Billing and Coding site covers most aspects of this field, with detailed information about ICD-9, ICD-10, Medicare and Medicaid, salary expectations in this line of work and more. The blog covers terminology, coding procedures, etc. Recent blog posts include:
- Translating Medical Documentation Into Code, which covers what goes into translating a patient’s medical records into the appropriate billing codes.
- Careers in Medical Coding: Physician Office Billing, which covers a few career options relevant to medical billing by physician offices.
- Billing Workers’ Compensation, which covers the process involved in making a billing claim for workers’ compensation through a company’s Human Resources department.
11. SuperCoder Bolt/ Coding News
SuperCoder Bolt, formerly CodingNews, offers medical coding advice and news for various points of view: healthcare providers, medical coders and billers, and patients. In addition to the blog, the main has coding challenges, coding and billing tools. The blog covers provider news, coding news and especially ICD-10 articles. Full-text blog post access requires free registration. Recent blog posts include:
- ICD-10: Right, Left, Bilateral Options Expand Carotid Artery Stenosis Choices, which covers ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes for several cardiology procedures.
- CPT(r) 2015: Get to Know 2 New 2015 Advanced Planning Codes, which covers codes for advanced care planning for urology.
- ICD-10: Screening Drug Test Orders Use Many Diagnoses, which covers codes relevant to drug test screening.
10. CodingCertification.org – Medical Coding Blog
CodingCertification.org focuses on helping people get certified for medical coding and billing, and practice management. In addition to the blog, the main site offers guides, tools and webinars, four categories of courses/ exam prep options, continuing education options and more. Recent blog posts include:
- Injections and Infusions Medical Coding – Video, which offers a question and answer approach to E/M coding for injections and infusions.
- What is EVAR Endovascular Aneurysm Medical Coding – Video, which covers determining the correct codes for a specific type of aneurysm.
- Medical Billing versus Medical Coding – Video, which goes indepth into covering the difference between medical billing and medical coding.
9. Career Step Blog – Coding and Billing
CareerStep, in collaboration with academic partners, provides online education and training in the healthcare field – which includes medical coding and billing and other programs. Tuition assistance available for qualified individuals and scholarships ($0.5M in 2015; $2,000 awards to military spouses). The main CareerStep blog (different from the “Referral” blog) covers medical coding and billing as well as other topics. Recent blog posts include:
- Not all work-from-home jobs are a scam, which outlines how to filter our the scams from the legit medical coding and billing WAHM (work at home) opportunities.
- Coding substance use, abuse, and dependence: ICD-9 and ICD-10 differences – part 2, which continues a comparison of the differences between the existing ICD-9 medical coding system and the ICD-10 system.
8. Capture Billing – Medical Billing & Coding Blog
Capture Billing is a medical billing services and practice management consulting company. In addition to the Medical Billing and Coding blog post articles, the main site offers press release, videos, and infographics. Recent blog posts include:
- Medical Billing Software Trends, which highlights the findings of a survey of healthcare providers by Software Advice on medical billing software.
- New Medicare Modifiers XE, XP, XS, XU: Examples of When to Bill Each One, .which covers some new HPCS code modifiers for Medicare claims
- Help Survive Audits by Ditching One Common Medical Billing Error, which goes into detail a common medical billing error and how to avoid making the same mistake as many other healthcare providers.
7. Codebusters Blog
Codebusters is a health information services provider whose services include HIM/HIT solutions, clinical documentation , ICD-10 transition consulting, several free ICD-10 training courses, and more. The Codebusters blog often covers a series of medical coding exercises, with each post detailing in-depth the process to apply to determine the appropriate code. Recent blog posts include:
- ICD-10-PCS, Root Operations – Part 38, Procedures: Question & Answer, which covers determining the code for a “Fine needle aspiration biopsy of left lower lobe of lung via inserting a thin needle into the tumor.”
- ICD-10-PCS, Root Operations – Part 37, Procedures: Question & Answer, which covers determining the code for a ” Destruction of left sigmoid lesion and bypass of left sigmoid colon via insertion of scope through the anus and then up to the targeted site.”
- ICD-10-PCS, Root Operations – Part 36, Procedures: Question & Answer, which covers determining the code for a “Excision of the right sartorius muscle and excision of the right gracilis muscle, Open approach.”
6. ICD10 Watch Blog
The ICD10Watch site, from HealthcareIT News and Healthcare Finance, offers resources, polls and a playbook on ICD-10 medical coding. The blog exclusively covers ICD-10 coding. Recent blog posts include:
- Where procrastinating physicians can get ICD-10 help, which provides a link to ICD-10 help resources.
- Why your medical practice needs you to be an ICD-10 champion, which talks about the importance of being an advocate of ICD-10, and offers an extensive list of resources to consult.
- How your clearinghouse can help with the ICD-10 transition, which discusses why ICD-10 will not simplify medical coding and billing, and how a clearinghouse can help healthcare providers with the transition from ICD-9.
5. HAPUSA Medical Billing and Coding Blog
HAP (Healthcare Administrative Partners) USA is a medical billing company. In addition to other news and other information, they have a blog focused on radiology and oncology, with a significant number of posts specifically about medical billing and coding. Recent blog posts include:
- Conduct a Gap Analysis to Get Your Radiology Practice ICD-10 Ready, which offers advice on preparing to convert to ICD-10.
- How Coding Changes Impact Radiation Oncology Practices in 2015, which covers the AMA’s CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) 2015 changes to codes for oncology practice.
- The Impact of Coding Changes on Radiology Practices in 2015, which covers CPT coding changes and shows a table comparing the fee differences and increase/ decrease for select codes.
4. M-Scribe Medical Billing Blog
M-Scribe is a medical billing service company. In addition to whitepapers, webinars and medical documentation for ICD-10, their blog covers tips and best practices for healthcare providers on the matter of medical billing. Recent blog posts include:
- 7 Things an Effective Revenue Cycle Management Model Can Help Healthcare Organizations With, which discusses some “drivers” to improving a healthcare provider’s revenue cycle, including ICD-10.
- A large series of posts covering medical billing and coding terminology from A-B to U-Z. See index for other posts.
- 7 Main Benefits of Converting to ICD-10, which discusses getting more accurate payments, reducing payment denials, and five other reasons to convert from ICD-9 to ICD-10.
3. ImplementHIT Blog
ImplementHIT is an eLearning tech sites for physicians and nurses, although its blog covers a considerable number of issues in terms of medical coding in detailed posts. Recent blog posts include:
- Injuries and the 7th Character in ICD-10-CM, which discusses the 7th character of an ICD-10-CM code and how this significantly different than ICD-9, especially in relation to injuries and refining the scenario..
- Adverse Effects and Poisonings in ICD-10-CM, which covers tips on properly coding in ICD-10-CM for poisonings and related situations.
- Complications of Care Coding in ICD-10-CM, which covers coding for patient complications during the providing of care, and example on how to determine the correct codes.
2. Kareo – Getting Paid | Medical Billing and Practice Management Blog
Getting Paid blog, by software publisher Kareo, focuses on the management of a medical practice and the necessary medical billing effort. The multi-author blog offers “ideas, news and opinions” and covers both ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding with fairly in-depth posts. Recent blog posts include:
- ICD-10 Changes for Rheumatology: Important Diagnoses to Consider, which covers some of the changes in using ICD-10 for rheumatology.
- 5 Medical Practice Front Desk Time Savers, which offers some front-desk efficiency tips.
- Free Assessment: Are You Ready for ICD-10?, which links to a ICD-10 preparation checklist elsewhere on the Kareo.com site.
1. HCPro ICD-10 Trainer
HCPro/ Just Coding’s blog focuses entirely in the ICD-10 coding system, taking an interesting approach to highlight various codes. The author(s) tell little stories of a fictional character, what happens to the character, and then indicates which ICD-10 codes are suitable for the scenario. Recent blog posts include:
- A little clarity on seventh characters, which presents a scenario about Jeff, who goes to Hawaii on vacation and returns with a broken ankle, and the resulting ICD-10 codes for his visit to an ED physician.
- Nonunion, malunion, or delayed healing?, which presents a scenario about Wendy, who stubs her toe before Christmas, and the resulting injury and associated ICD-10 code.
- No pot of gold for you, which presents a scenario about Liam, who tried to make green Guinness beer for St. Patrick’s Day, ended up with toxic poisoning, and the associated ICD-10 codes, with a comparison to the workflow of determining the codes for ICD-9.
