News from the World of Medical Billing and Coding

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GavelIn honor of National Consumer Protection Month (yes, that’s a real thing March 3-8), Gerry Detweiler at Credit.com penned an interesting article that is pertinent to anyone studying medical billing and coding or considering a medical billing and coding course as a new career.  In the article which you can read in its entirety here, Detweiler discusses how errors in medical billing and coding (none of which are made by Allen School alumnae) can be very difficult to straighten out for a consumer who is being billed mistakenly.   Unlike credit cards and other forms of consumer credit which must comply with Federal consumer protection laws, medical offices are not bound by law to provide documentation when disputes are lodged.  The author calls for some form of legislative intervention to provide a legal framework for medical billing and coding, similar to that in place for consumer creditors.  Of course, even if such a new Federal law were imposed, it would be of little notice to doctors and hospitals that employ medical billing and coding pros trained at the Allen School or Allen School Online.

HIV Cured in Newborn Baby

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Some days, its hard not to be proud to be a member of the medical care industry.   Sure, as a medical billing and coding pro, or a certified nursing assistant, you’re not going to be deeply involved with medical research.  However, when medical researchers, doctors and scientists announce things like this, it is a victory that all members of the medical establishment, even certified nursing assistants and billing/coding pros can be proud of. It seems that two and a half years ago, a baby was born in Mississippi, to a mother infected with HIV.  Within 30 hours of birth, doctors gave the infant an aggressive treatment for HIV.  Today, a full two and a half years later, the toddler is functionally cured of HIV.  While sophisticated testing has uncovered trace evidence of the HIV DNA in the child’s blood, there is no infection and the child is seemingly cured.  The implications of this breakthrough are staggering, especially in African countries where a statistically higher number of infants are born HIV positive.  This new technique could very well set the world on a course to eradicate HIV/AIDS just as completely as it has measles, small pox and so many other former killers. Makes you proud as a CNA to be a part of the field that ends the suffering of humanity doesn’t it?

The Story About Medical Assistants that Isn’t Going Away

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It seems like almost every week another publication releases a story like this one from Yahoo! Education entitled, “Job’s that Aren’t Going Away”.  In this article, the author lists seven careers in high growth fields that are projected to remain in high demand over the next decade.  As you’ll probably guess from so many similar stories we’ve covered here in the recent past, Medical Assistants are number two on this particular article’s list. If you’re studying or considering studying medical assistant training at Allen School, you can look forward to a field experiencing significant growth.  According to this article, ” the number of new jobs added between 2010 and 2020 is expected to be around 162,900 and 2010-2020 job growth is projected at 31 percent.  That’s not the kind of work that can be outsourced or automated either.  Something to think about.

Medical Bills May Be Killing Us, But Medical Billing and Coding Pros Prosper

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Time magazine has a controversial article out in their current issue talking about the complexity and inefficiency of the current state of medical billing.  It raises several hot button issues surrounding how healthcare policy is determined in the US.  According to the research they cite, the following statistic jumps off the page, “We’re likely to spend $2.8 trillion this year on health care. That $2.8 trillion is likely to be $750 billion, or 27%, more than we would spend if we spent the same per capita as other developed countries, even after adjusting for the relatively high per capita income in the U.S. vs. those other countries.” Wherever you come down on the political argument over healthcare and how to manage the seemingly limitless growth of costs, one thing is abundantly clear.  If you’re a medical billing and coding specialist, you’re going to continue to have more work than you can handle.  And given the government’s recent inability to agree on anything, it seems things will remain this way for years to come.  This is why career minded people of all ages are pursuing careers in medical billing and coding.

CNA’s Have an Ethic of Helping Others

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It takes a special kind of person to be an effective certified nursing assistant.  Being a CNA requires someone with a disposition that is inclined to want to help others.  Certified nursing assistants need to be compassionate, brave, cool-headed in an emergency and more than anything, they need to care about their fellow man. Perhaps the three men in the story linked here would be great candidates to take certified nursing assistant training at the Allen School.  These fellows acted with great altruism and bravery when they jumped down onto an active NYC subway track to help rescue a stranger.  The 20 year old had accidentally fallen off the platform and struck his head.  Acting with the same calm, cool manner demonstrated by practicing CNAs, these three fellows sprung into action, motivated by their concern for the health and well-being of a stranger.  Isn’t that a great definition of a CNA as well?

Presidential Wisdom for Allen School Students

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Happy President’s Day to all you students of medical billing and coding, certified nursing assistants training and medical office assistants training.  Today we celebrate the greatest leaders of our American history.  Here are a few choice quotes from presidents past which have relevance to your choice to study at the Allen School: “Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln “Believe that you can and you’re halfway there.”  – Theodore Roosevelt “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” – Dwight Eisenhower “If you’re walking down the right path, and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually, you’ll make progress.”  – Barack Obama See a full slideshow of inspirational, presidential quotes here.

Keep Studying Medical Billing Students – Asteroid 2012DA-14 is No Threat

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They say a strike by a large asteroid was the event that ended the age of dinosaurs on Earth some sixty-five million years ago.  So perhaps this is why apocalypse watchers were a bit excited to learn that today, an asteroid one hundred fifty feet wide is about to pass dangerously close to Earth.  So close in fact that it will be lower in altitude than many of our satellites.  But if you’re rooting for impact and the dawn of the next ice age, you’re going to be disappointed.  While the closest pass in recorded history, today’s asteroid encounter has zero chance of ending up with catastrophic impact.  It’s going to pass us by without any problems.  So students of medical billing and coding, if you were thinking you’d take the opportunity to dance with wild abandon, tick a few items of your bucket list or go off your diet and eat that leftover Valentine’s day candy, don’t do it.  We will live to fight another day here on Earth (or in your case, live to study medical billing and coding another day).  Unfortunately, we here in the Northeast will not be able to see the asteroid as it will be broad daylight when the pass-by happens.  But you will be able to see it online at the Space.com website here.  So since Allen School’s medical billing and coding program is available online, many of you may be in front of a computer at the right time to watch this rock go hurtling by.

Medical Assistants in the Hot Jobs Spotlight

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It ‘s getting to be an almost commonplace occurrence, that medical assistant is included in media stories about “where the jobs are”.  This week is not going to be the week the trend is interrupted.  In an article with the optimistic title, “In-Demand Careers With a Bright Future”, Yahoo news reports on five careers that are projected to experience fast growth through 2020.  And you’ll never guess who was on that list.  Spoiler alert:  it’s medical assistants!   Citing the oncoming wave of retiring Baby Boomers and the fact that this particular type of work cannot be outsourced or automated, the article says a 31% growth rate in the medical assistant field is to be expected between now and the end of the decade.  So, if you’re already enrolled in Allen School’s medical assistant training program, you’re well on your way to a secure job.  If you’re not yet enrolled, and thinking of enrolling, here’s another reason why you should make the call.

No Rest for Medical Office Assistants as Flu Season Winds Down

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Remember the Rust-Oleum slogan (and subsequent Neil Young song), “rust never sleeps”?  Well, medical office assistants can relate to this idea, because like rust, human illness doesn’t ever sleep either.  One thing about the medical industry, there is a never ending stream of customers because people will get sick in a bad economy just the same as in a good one.

Every winter in the Northeast where the Allen School is located and where students take courses for medical office assistant training, certified nursing assistant training and other related fields, the bitter cold and snowy weather makes for a challenging flu season.  This year was no exception.

According to the AP, “The season started earlier than normal, spiking first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths have been dropping for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

‘It’s likely that the worst of the current flu season is over,’ CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in an email.”

But that doesn’t mean things will necessarily slow down for the working medical office assistant.  Being a medical office assistant means being busy all year round.

The Tale of the Robot CNA

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Have you ever heard the story of the robotic certified nursing assistant?  No? Neither have I!  And that’s kind of the point of this post.  You see, the unmistakable trend in labor today is the automation of so many different job functions.  Technology has been a boon to business.  From manufacturing to farming to even professional fields like banking (think ATM), automation technologies have replaced millions of flesh and blood humans.  And assembly line robots, ATM machines and other automated workers never call in sick, don’t demand overtime pay, won’t form unions or go out on strike.  So, its safe to say that companies of all sizes will continue to drive the trend towards increased use of robots and other automation tools.  One field that is relatively impervious to this trend however, is the medical field.  Certified nursing assistants will, by definition, need to remain human.  No one wants to be treated for their medical issues by a cold and unfeeling automaton.  So its safe to say that CNA training is still a good bet for anyone who wants to enter a career field where there is high projected demand for workers and low risk for jobs to be outsourced to other countries or robots. Check out this video on the trend towards robotic replacements for human workers.