Top 25 Medical Coding Interview Questions and Answers

These Medical coding interview questions and answers will prepare you to face any interview confidently.

Medical coding is an expert skill that enables medical administrators to sort medical records and spread with physicians, insurers, and patients the status of their medical bills. Medical coders are responsible for coding and extracting data from various sources, covering medical records, insurance claims, and test results. Preparing for medical coding questions and answers before attending an interview is essential to show your professional expertise in medical coding. In this article, we elaborate on how to prepare for a medical coding interview and analyze some common questions examine in a medical coding interview.

Medical Coding Interview Questions and Answers

1. What Are The Responsibilities Of A Medical Coder?

Hospitals are the best places for Medical Coders. But several other areas are there where medical coders might work. Moreover, they can work in clinics, urgent care facilities, nursing homes, treatment centers, and more. 

Some insurance agencies also hire medical coders to handle patient claims from the other side of the table, certifying the accuracy of incoming claims. Speaking of accuracy, some law firms even hire medical coders to help determine billing fraud.

2. What Challenges Can One Face During Your Previous Role?

The main task is to do the job at the highest level of accuracy and detail. This demands removing the most information out of the medical reports from the contributor and taking accurate notes. We must remain advanced in the medical terminology for both procedures and diagnoses. 

Sometimes the required details in documentation coming to the coder are missing. The coder must contact the information provider for corrections or clarifications. 

3. How can you Move Forward After a Claim Denial?

One has to find out why an insurer or doctor refuses a claim, noting it in the patient’s file. Suppose they accept it is an error or wishes to dispute the denial. In that case, one can reach the doctor or insurer directly and ask them to demonstrate the specific policy that led to a contradiction, then communicate with the patient accordingly.

4. In what Medical Expertise Do you Have Experience Coding?

My prior experience is in radiology, toxicology, and emergency medicine as a medical biller at a hospital. I am a quick learner and look forward to applying my knowledge of other coding specialities to practice at this clinic.

5. Why Are You Interested In This Profession?

Medical coding change healthcare diagnoses, procedures, works, and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes.  It is like translating crucial medical information into simple codes to handouts medical records and brief accurate medical billing. Since my college days, I have often been attached to hospitals’ diagnostic field, and this part keeps me interested as new things keep coming up.

6. Explain the Three Main Types of Medical Coding?

The three central healthcare code systems are HCPCS Level 1, CPT and ICD-9, and ICD-10. 

 7. Do You Have Any experience with a troublesome client or associate?

 

There was one patient who overlooked my messages and calls. I couldn’t contract with the Processing of patient documents. So I started approaching them face to face to clear my questions. We had the option to build an affinity at work.

8. Your understanding of the “J” code in clinical billing?

 

J code is a part of the HPCS Code set. The codes are applied for non-oral guided medicine and chemotherapy drugs. J-Codes used for Level II Code.

9. What are the various expressions used in clinical coding?

There are three basics of clinical coding.

• Reflection/Abstraction

• Task/Assignments
• Survey/Reviews

check the codes about a patient’s diagnosis and treatment. Review all records before the submission of information.

10. How to keep advanced clinical coding and other updates in the field?

 

Medical care is a growing industry.  It builds new codes and best practices now and then. Focus on continuing education programs. Also, apply your advanced techniques in clinical codes.

11. What are the practical uses of Medical Coding?

 

Medical coding has proper applications. Clinical coding works to collect information for WHO and state administration. These administrations carry out projects to handle different ailments.

• Insurance agencies reimburse claims based on the clinical codes.
• They guide the billing system.
• The Information aids with the investigations of disease patterns.
• The Government health system develops projects to cure and control the sickness.
• The data provides statistical information on state and national health and death cases.

12. Mention tips and rules for another clinical coder, Who are Freshers

It is critical to code all the reports. The medical records and code must match each other. 

Reporting the code:

• The first code applies the justification after the patient’s hospital visit.
• Attach to the NCCI and MUE rules to prevent any coding errors. As a coder, you keep yourself updated with the advancement.
• Try not to harm or use the wrong modifiers.

13. What is the reason for Selecting this profession?

A clinical coder has a unique chance to work in medical services. One doesn’t require the actual interest of many medical services experts.

14. How Many  Charts Can You Code In One Hour?

I can code two charts in one hour.

15. How do you stay updated on medical codes and ongoing developments in the field?

As a certified medical coder, one must keep the certification updated by taking all required education courses. Further, subscribe to several industry-specific newsletters to inform about any significant changes to medical coding practices.

16. What Strategies And Mindset Are Necessary For This Role?

Proficiency and correctness are two mindsets necessary for this profession. One needs to center around his work alone. If you ever see a coder using hands-free during their career, they are not a coder. Coders are always in their private world, and they are!

Excellent decision-making speeds up the process. A proficient coder understands when to let the codes they select “go through” and when to take the time to analyze a little deeper to ensure the proper codes are used. Experienced coders typically have a personal notebook or two to build and rely on to ensure they keep the work flowing.

17.  What Is The Biggest Challenge You Can Face In This Job?

Medical coders have to do their job accurately with efficiency and specificity. This requires accurate information, drawing the most information out of the medical reports from the provider, and taking actual notes. Moreover, one has to learn the terminology for all procedures and diagnoses. The event of coding at a basic level or even under-coding may conduct in denial or decline of the claim. Therefore, one must apply the current and updated code sets.

18. Are You Qualified For This Role? What Do You Think?

I am optimistic about this role as I achieve specialized training and certification to become a medical coder. It is not a job just anyone can execute but represents medical coders’ valued professionals in healthcare. Although training is essential, the barrier to entering the health-related field is not as high as in other healthcare careers. For Example, I achieved the Online Medical Billing and Coding Certificate program at Henry Harvin. It is the best pathway for working professionals with financial and family duties looking to get started in health information. So to advance my career, I have completed CCA (Certified Coding Associate) and CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) offered by the American Health Information Management Association. These bonus points make me a fit person for the position.

19. Share Your Greatest Achievement

My most extraordinary achievement is that I did not shift my entire professional journey as I kept excelling, opting for better and the best. This is like following a dream job; I feel lucky to have accomplished all that.

20. What would you order your work while entering billing for the patient?

Before starting day schedules, I check all the urgent patient bills. The gravity may be like approval for a prescription to go on with the treatment. Then, review the old records first to ensure no hurdle comes in treating patients.

21. How Do You Want To Disclose Billing Codes to a Patient?

 I discover treatments can be troubling for the patient.  So, I will deal with sympathy. Moreover, I will assert the tests or treatment. I will list the codes with an accurate strategy. I will enquire if the patient has some other questions or problems. So this is one of the important Medical Coding Interview Questions and Answers often asked in the interview.

 22. What Makes The Life Of A Medical Coder Easy And Enjoyable?

Having great resources that are straightforward access is another way to enhance proficiency. Questions pop up all the time for any coder, and the answers are sometimes hard to find. However, there are several online resources where questions can be answered quickly and accurately with a bit of practice and familiarity. Some coders use industry coding manuals in their work, while others leave them on the shelf – they are large, cumbersome, and take up a lot of room.

23. What How An Experienced Coder Would Look Like?

Experienced coders usually have a personal notebook or two they have created and rely on to ensure they keep the work flowing. Generally, in most cases, the software the employer offers covers several ways to guide the coder’s work quickly and accurately.

Expert medical coders depend on each other to get better. Moreover, there is no more delicate way to acknowledge that from peers, and great coders support each other to stay at the top of their game. Besides, they also give tips on working a little faster without offering accuracy and turn to each other for questions they can’t answer independently.

24. Is A Setup To Help Medical Coders With Excel, Leading To A Safe Profession?

I believe success relies on proficiency, and medical coders with a high level of ability are quickly hired, have excellent job security, and have more career opportunities. So we follow Dale Schmidt, a professional medical coder, and creator of the platform medicalcoders.net, a website dedicated to helping medical coders find great coding jobs and working techniques.

25. There Is A Concept Of Under Coding And Over Coding. Can You Explain Both?

Under coding is the purposeful reportage of less expensive medical services that are performed, while over coding is the reportage of more costly procedures that are performed. Both of these may be fraudulent and can lead to audits and investigations. These are not errors, but we are obligated to mention them here as something you absolutely must avoid.

Conclusion

The medical code interview questions and answers mentioned earlier will support you in acing your interview! Remember, the Medical Coder requires to have good interpersonal skills. Moreover, being a Medical Coder is a demanding job that needs the presence of mind and full participation from the team members. If you are interested in organization, prefer the workload, and multitasking, this position is for you!  So, don’t forget to wear a formal dress for your interview and carry it with a smile! Good luck

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