6 questions to ask when hiring a remote coder
Healthcare is a complex industry. It is important for companies in this industry to strike a balance between patient care and a careful way of doing business.
Medical coding is mainly run by competent medical remote coders. These remote coders enable care providers to accurately document data on treatments, procedures, and patient experience.
They also prepare an accurate bill for insurance providers and patients.
Medical coding definition
Medical coding is the process of translating and assigning Diagnosis codes and Procedure Codes to lengthier and more detailed descriptions for health care services rendered.
It is essential in the reimbursement cycle for health care claims.
Apart from hospitals and healthcare facilities, medical coders are commonly found working in locations such as government agencies, law firms, insurance agencies, schools, remotely, and other institutions that require the translation of medical information.
Questions to ask when hiring a remote coder
A good interview question does two things:
- It gives you a chance to see how well a medical coder can contribute to your business goals.
- It also helps to gauge how capable they are to blend into their job role and work culture.
Make sure to find answers for the questions below to check if it’s time to start building your own team of remote coders or start growing your existing team.
For businesses hiring a remote coder
Before you start hiring, it is important to examine what drives your need to hire a medical coder. It can differ per company, which is why it is important to identify unique needs that your company may require.
1. Do you want to put more focus on your core competencies?
It is common for growing businesses to lose focus as they travel further down their lifecycle. Some lose sight of their objectives once they get too occupied with managing their business, resulting in distraction.
Delegating tasks like medical coding to experts can help you concentrate on the essential functions of your business. This can free up the time of leaders and spend more time strategizing.
Additionally, working with professional medical coders can also help you produce better service and boost customer satisfaction.
2. Do you want to improve accuracy and lessen errors?
Coding errors can impact your bottom line.
Insufficient coding knowledge can affect claims, and lead to billing penalties, high rates of denial, improper reimbursement and wasted time on resubmissions.
One way to prevent this is hiring competent coders that have the certification your business requires and make sure that you have enough manpower to handle the volume of work you are processing.
3. Is your current team overworked?
Your billing department handles a lot of paperwork each day. Patients want to be seen by their doctors as quickly as possible.
But often, your billing staff needs to help patients navigate the medical insurance process before they can see the doctor.
When left unaddressed, it can lead to burnout and lower your team’s morale. It can affect quality and productivity as well.
This means that you need a billing company that can handle all of this work for you, freeing up your staff to spend more time seeing patients and handling other treatments.
For remote coders
The questions below are great for employers who want to examine their applicants further. However, it is also a great starting point for aspiring medical coders who want to measure their abilities.
Do you have:
4. The ability to work independently?
As medical coders progress, they should be able to assess and complete daily responsibilities on their own. They should receive little external feedback, but should regularly assess the quality and amount of their work.
Being accountable is also very important for medical coders who are working remotely.
5. Experience in your specialty compliance?
A coder who has experience and knowledge in medical processes and terms related to a hospital’s specialty can help make onboarding and integration easier. They will take less time to train, resulting in a more efficient workflow.
It helps to hire someone that are knowledgeable in the following topics related to whatever speciality your healthcare facility may have:
- Health records management
- Medical terminology
- Insurance procedures
- Business communications
6. Attention to detail?
Coding a variety of medical documents takes great skill to ensure accuracy. The ideal applicant needs to be precise when verifying that patient records are correct and when transforming those records into the proper codes.
If this data is not recorded or transmitted accurately it can be a safety issue for patients or delay reimbursement to the healthcare provider or medical facility.
Why hire a remote coder
Remote medical coders can work from anywhere, which can be a huge benefit for companies that want to hire remote workers.
This means that you don’t have to worry about finding a local candidate or paying relocation costs if your company is located in one state and their home office is in another.
The cost savings associated with hiring remote medical coders are also significant – they’re generally cheaper than hiring someone locally who still needs an office space. Additionally, by integrating remote workers, you are tapping into a broader talent pool that you may not have access to locally.
One of the most common ways to hire a remote coder is by offshoring or outsourcing.
Service providers like Remote Employee have the resources and expertise to find and hire the most qualified remote coders for their clients.
It grants employers a flexible way to get the job done. Outsourcing medical coding opens up the door for scalability, cost reduction, and easier compliance to certifications and regulations.
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