For employment opportunities and job security, few industries can compare with healthcare. Some people might be initially deterred from seeking work in this field because they believe a long, arduous educational process is involved. However, working as a medical assistant or a medical billing and coding professional does not require a lengthy training process. In fact, many people can obtain employment in these positions with less than a year of training.
What Is a Medical Assistant?
In many doctor’s offices, it is the medical assistant who has greatest amount of one-on-one contact with the patient. A medical assistant may check in patients upon their arrival or answer the phone at the front desk. They may also do some routine document filing. However, these administrative tasks are just half of the medical assistant’s job. When a patient is in an examining room, it may be the medical assistant who takes and records vital signs. They might also sterilize the equipment, draw blood and prepare samples for testing at the lab.
How to Become a Medical Assistant
Medical assistant programs at technical schools and community colleges are available, and can typically be completed in less than a year. Many medical assistants receive some on-the-job training to adjust to their work site’s particular system. However, competitive job candidates will have to come in with some background in medical terminology, procedures, and applied skills. Learn more about MTI’s Medical Assistant program.
What Is a Medical Billing and Coding Professional?
While a medical assistant has plenty of face-to-face contact with patients, the situation is quite different for the medical biller and coder. This is a much more behind-the-scenes role, but it is no less valuable to the healthcare field. People who are adept at using computers and have excellent attention to detail are likely to succeed in this career. Essentially, medical billers and coders organize patient data using the complex system of coding that has been devised for every condition, diagnosis and treatment used in the medical field. It is this coded data that is subsequently submitted to insurance companies as an invoice for payment. Without the medical billing and coding professional, it would be impossible for healthcare professionals to be paid for their services.
How to Become a Medical Billing and Coding Professional
Formalized training is a necessary component of entering this field. In places like Sacramento medical billing and coding training provides students with the knowledge they need to efficiently and correctly utilize the codes and guidelines that are indispensable to the profession. Most programs require less than a year to complete and should prepare students to complete professional certification by or after graduation. Learn more about MTI’s Medical Billing and Coding Professional program.
Choosing a Goal for a Healthcare Career
Whether choosing Sacramento medical billing and coding training or a program that leads to a medical assistant position, potential employees in the healthcare field can feel confident that their choice will provide them with the training to pursue a meaningful career with excellent employment stability.