How Medical Offices Get Paid. The University of North Florida's Division of Continuing Education, in cooperation with the UNF College of Health, is offering new certificate programs in Health Careers. The advent and staying power of managed care reinforces the need for qualified medical office personnel.
Coders are translators of physician documentation.
Their work is the foundation of many facets of health care including clinical data collection, billing, reimbursement, research and quality improvement. Medical Coders assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure documented in the patient's record. Coding guidelines mandated by third-party payers are designed to ensure consistency and eliminate fraud. The information that is coded is then used for clinical decisions, payments, and insurance and Medicare reimbursement. Due to these new laws and procedures, Medical Coders have become an integral part of the billing system.