Benefits of Acquiring a Specialization during the Holidays!

Medical billing and coding for a specialist though similar to general billing and coding, involves usage of codes used only for a particular medical specialty - with the holiday season offering comparatively free time to medical billers and coders could be the best time to acquire a specialization of your choice to further your career.

A medical coder may question that generally more knowledge is more advantageous than having more of limited knowledge, so why acquire certification in a specialized field? --- Acquiring a certification & specialization can considerably improve your remuneration which is a must in today’s competitive environment.

These Industry facts further validate the above:

• Medical coders with a  specialization in areas like cancer registry earn better salaries than their counterparts without a specialization
• High-earning groups in the medical billing and coding profession are not only experienced but also possess some sort of specialization 
• There is a huge opportunity for medical coders with certification & a specialty area to earn an additional USD 10,000 per year
• 2012 - The Average Salary of a Medical Coding Specialist is at a comfortable USD 42,000 per year and can easily reach USD 50,000
• Medical billers & coders in entry level jobs typically earn around USD 13 per hour and with specialization and experience can increase to anywhere between USD 30 to USD 40 per hour

Benefits

Along with higher remuneration there are several other benefits to seeking a specialist certification:

Specialist doctors are more likely to hire those with specialized training - as specialized training helps deal with the particular codes used by specialists, ensuring the physician gets optimized service.

Improved job performance – acquiring medical coding certification in your chosen field will help in quick and accurate coding increasing your employer’s revenue in turn making you a valuable employee.

Increased knowledge in your field of expertise – which will improve exposure, help in acquiring required information of the specialized area and how the treatment of your chosen specialty works.

Specialization helps acquire new jobs - medical billing and coding specialization can help expand your work skills and seek opportunities in a new environment with new challenges.

Certain specializations important to the medical field – though all areas are vital, specialization like - cancer doctors, heart specialists, geriatric doctors - makes you a part of an important team that helps those who desperately need medical care.

Specialists help make your job more defined - limited to relatively few specialized procedures helps you focus your attention on a smaller number of codes and learn to manipulate them more precisely.

Assisting your employer to manage the high costs of specialist health care - Specialist doctors have incredibly high overheads, a good specialist biller can help in literally doubling the income of a practice.

These benefits will definitely help further your career, and medical billers and coders can immensely profit by making optimum use of the holiday season being extremely busy throughout the year and commence the necessary steps in acquiring a specialization.

Specializing includes two things: a specialized training program and certification in a specialist field. The American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) offers specialist certification in nearly 20 areas- to medical billers and coders to choose.