Medical billing and coding specialists are responsible for managing insurance claims, invoices, and payments between the medical office and insurance companies. They use standardized codes to input a patients diagnoses and services into an electronic health record system, which tells the patients insurance company how much it needs to reimburse the healthcare provider under the terms of the patients policy and reveals the portion of the payment due that is the patients responsibility. The day-to-day work of a medical billing and coding specialist includes properly coding services, procedures, diagnoses, and treatments, preparing and sending invoices or claims for payment, correcting rejected claims, tracking payments, and following up with patients and insurance companies about outstanding bills.

Medical billing and coding specialists work primarily in an office setting and spend a large amount of time at the computer, reviewing, entering, and updating information. They are responsible for avoiding billing and coding errors so payments are collected in a timely manner. While some larger facilities will hire separate teams to take care of the billing and coding, these individuals typically work very closely together to ensure the process is done correctly.

Medical billing and coding specialists are required to have a high school diploma or equivalent, certification from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and 0-2 years of experience as a medical billing and coding specialist. They should possess computer proficiency, strong interpersonal skills, organizational abilities, knowledge of codes like CPT, ICD-10, and HCPCS, and knowledge of medical terminology and basic math.