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Medical coder vs medical coding technician

The differences between medical coders and medical coding technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a medical coder and a medical coding technician. Additionally, a medical coder has an average salary of $51,563, which is higher than the $35,307 average annual salary of a medical coding technician.

The top three skills for a medical coder include CPC, medical terminology and ICD-10-CM. The most important skills for a medical coding technician are medical billing, data entry, and front desk.

Medical coder vs medical coding technician overview

Medical CoderMedical Coding Technician
Yearly salary$51,563$35,307
Hourly rate$24.79$16.97
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs51,31667,197
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 37%Associate Degree, 30%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

What does a medical coder do?

A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.

What does a medical coding technician do?

The job of a medical coding technician is to assist in the management of insurance claims, payments, and invoices. Your day-to-day duties may include reviewing claims data to ensure that the assigned codes meet the insurance and legal rules, understanding the diagnosis of patients and medical procedures that have been performed, and extracting information from documentation such as the name of the physician and the date of the procedure. Additionally, abmedical coding technician also follows up with patients and insurance firms regarding outstanding bills.

Medical coder vs medical coding technician salary

Medical coders and medical coding technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical CoderMedical Coding Technician
Average salary$51,563$35,307
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $70,000Between $28,000 And $43,000
Highest paying CityTrenton, NJ-
Highest paying stateHawaii-
Best paying companyMeta-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between medical coder and medical coding technician education

There are a few differences between a medical coder and a medical coding technician in terms of educational background:

Medical CoderMedical Coding Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 37%Associate Degree, 30%
Most common majorHealth Care AdministrationHealth Care Administration
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Medical coder vs medical coding technician demographics

Here are the differences between medical coders' and medical coding technicians' demographics:

Medical CoderMedical Coding Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 13.2% Female, 86.8%Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between medical coder and medical coding technician duties and responsibilities

Medical coder example responsibilities.

  • Manage all EDI relate communication with trading partners and assist to produce all operational documents for all end users.
  • Manage all aspects of AR including writing letters for medical necessity, claim denials, bundling issues and charge capture.
  • Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
  • Manage the outsourced transcription company.
  • Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
  • Adhere to regulations with CPT-4, ICD-9-CM and HCPCS coding with medical terminology and effort meet all audit requirements.
  • Show more

Medical coding technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
  • Assign appropriate ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes in compliance with recognize coding principles and department policies.
  • Remain current on medical coding guidelines and HIPAA laws and regulations.
  • Reconcile clinical notes, patient encounter form, and health information for compliance with HIPAA rules.
  • Audit ROI program quarterly to ensure deadlines are completed and proper procedures for legal and personal requests are followed.
  • Train team members in all ROI processes, make independent decisions base on the provisions of these privacy laws and regulations.
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Medical coder vs medical coding technician skills

Common medical coder skills
  • CPC, 11%
  • Medical Terminology, 8%
  • ICD-10-CM, 7%
  • AHIMA, 7%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Clinical Documentation, 5%
Common medical coding technician skills
  • Medical Billing, 14%
  • Data Entry, 12%
  • Front Desk, 10%
  • CPC, 9%
  • ICD-10-CM, 7%
  • Transcription, 6%

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