Making Money From Home: Medical Coding

Medical Coding Salary is above average with steady employment. Coding specialist analyzes health records and designates the codes for each procedure and diagnosis. It is one of the few health professions where you do not have to work directly with the patient. Instead, medical coders work with patient records. Coders sort through the information to identify life threatening allergies and report which qualify for healthcare reimbursement. This information is then inputted into a software program they maintain. They also do administrative work such as scheduling, staffing and adding or decreasing healthcare services. 

Quality standards and productivity are required to be a top earning medical coder. For this reason, it pays to be detail oriented, accurate and organized. Besides good time management, it is important to be an active listener. Coders work with a team of professionals and must be comfortable asking questions and with memos and other forms of office communication. Taking biology and computer courses in high school are a good start. A medical coder has a complete understanding of what is written in medical records. Learning medical terminology, physiology, pharmacology, and anatomy is the next step. You have to learn to update knowledge in the field continually, so life-long learning is required.