How to hire a medical billing and coding externship

How to hire a medical billing and coding externship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step medical billing and coding externship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a medical billing and coding externship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new medical billing and coding externship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your medical billing and coding externship job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a medical billing and coding externship for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A medical billing and coding externship's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, medical billing and coding externships from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of medical billing and coding externships.

   Type of Medical Billing And Coding Externship	Description	Hourly rate
   Medical Billing And Coding Externship	Financial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. They keep records, help customers, and carry out financial transactions.	$14-20
   Patient Registrar	A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed... Show more	$12-20
   Registration Representative	In medical facilities, a registration representative serves as the patients' first point of contact in clinics and hospitals. They primarily greet patients, identify their needs, gather personal and medical information, and assist them in filling out forms... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Insurance Eligibility
   • Data Entry
   • EOB
   • Insurance Verification
   • CPT-4
   • Medicaid
   • Medical Billing
   • Patient Charts
   • Patient Accounts
   • Patient Demographics
   • Medical Charts
   • Insurance Claims
   • CMS-1500

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage chart completion (ICD-9-CM and CPT coding/abstracting), chart assembly and analysis, patient admission and patient information privacy/security.
   • Verify correct ICD-10 and CPT codes for a variety of specialties.
   • Review physicians' appointment notes to determine appropriate ICD-9 and HCPCS code for the medical service render.
   • Identify and code the principal diagnosis and procedures using ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes to each patient's medical records
   • Perform billing and collection procedures, utilize CPT-4 and ICD-9 coding, insurance claim preparation, processing and follow-ups.
   • Resolve and research of insurance denials, rejections, providing correction of claims, involving CPT and HCPCS codes.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your medical billing and coding externship job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A medical billing and coding externship can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, medical billing and coding externships' average salary in alabama is 42% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level medical billing and coding externships 29% less than senior-level medical billing and coding externships.
   • Certifications. A medical billing and coding externship with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a medical billing and coding externship's salary.

   Average medical billing and coding externship salary

   $36,112yearly

   $17.36 hourly rate

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   Entry-level medical billing and coding externship salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

4. Writing a medical billing and coding externship job description

   A job description for a medical billing and coding externship role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a medical billing and coding externship job description:

   Medical billing and coding externship job description example

   Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) proudly provides the opportunity for its team members to make a difference in our community every day.
   
   As an established, non-profit organization, FHCSD has close to 1,500 employees and continues to grow. The rewards of working at FHCSD are much more than a paycheck and excellent benefits. It is the impact and contribution to our neighborhoods and community that our employees value most.
   
   Expanding on its vision to be "Exceptional in Every Way," FHCSD is also a national leader among community health centers through accreditation by the Joint Commission and designation as a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) by the Joint Commission and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). In addition, FHCSD was recently awarded the prestigious 2014 Crystal Award for Workplace Excellence by the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Click here to view our accomplishments and awards.
   We are always looking for talented and dedicated professionals to join our team!
   
   Under the supervision of the Billing and Coding Supervisor, responsible for checking and correcting patient charges, payments, and medical data for all departments. In charge of filling and responding to patient and staff questions regarding their accounts. The volunteer student intern will provide additional clerical and administrative support to the assigned department and will gain knowledge of community health care through exposure to the FHCSD community health model.
   
   Responsibilities
   Performs other duties as assigned. Performs volunteer duties as assigned, within scope of assignment, under direct supervision.
   
   Requirements
   Interest in FHCSD's mission Licensure required for specific volunteer assignment. High School Diploma or equivalent Must be enrolled in an accredited billing and coding training program Ability to work effectively with patients from diverse social, cultural and economic groups. Ability to work well in both a team-based environment and independently. Demonstrated ability to be culturally sensitive and respect diversity. Demonstrated ability to maintain good working relationships with employees, coworkers, and departments. Intermediate interpersonal and customer service skills. Ability to maintain confidentiality. CRT and ten key experience required. Knowledge of medical terminology is required. Knowledge of basic accounting principles desired. Numerical ability to compute patient's charges required. Verbal ability to answer questions (patient and staff). Knowledge of medical programs such as Medi-Cal, Medicare, Manage Care Plans (HMO's), and private insurance preferred.
   
   FHCSD was founded by community activists working towards a common goal: caring, affordable, high-quality medical care for all. We are proud to continue this mission today as we provide accessible services to over 210,000 patients across San Diego County. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to community medicine and providing culturally competent care to the medically underserved.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right medical billing and coding externship for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your medical billing and coding externship job on Zippia to find and attract quality medical billing and coding externship candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting medical billing and coding externships requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new medical billing and coding externship

   Once you've found the medical billing and coding externship candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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