How To Write a Medical Billing and Coding Resume
In the world of medical billing and coding, precision is key. Your resume should reflect this sentiment while demonstrating an ability to translate medical procedures and diagnoses into appropriate codes. In this guide, we’ll show you how to write a results-driven resume to help accelerate your career and land your next big job opportunity.
- Entry-level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-level
1. Create a dynamic profile of your medical billing and coding specialist qualifications
To write an attention-grabbing profile, provide hiring managers with a snapshot of your most compelling qualifications and skills. In the first sentence, mention your job title and years of experience, including your certified status if applicable. This is a great place to feature any billing or coding specializations and abilities that make you uniquely qualified for the job.
As a medical professional, you’re handling confidential patient information. Highlight your commitment to HIPAA regulations and maintaining confidentiality. Think about what the health care organization is looking for in a medical billing and coding specialist, and include those qualifications you match up with.
Senior-Level Profile Example
A Certified Medical Billing and Coding Specialist with 11+ years’ experience interfacing with insurance representatives, medical providers, and patients. Adept at performing complex ICD-10 and CPT coding.
Entry-Level Profile Example
A Certified Medical Billing and Coding Specialist with three years of experience, specializing in data analysis, electronic health records (EHR), and medical terminology. Adept at executing complex coding projects to process insurance payments and managing confidential patient information.
2. Add a compelling section featuring your medical billing and coding specialist experience
As you create bullet points to describe each of your previous positions, emphasize your career accomplishments. Provide a good mix of job duties and achievements so hiring managers understand what you’re capable of. Demonstrate the value you can bring to their health care organization.
Medical billing and coding is a career where data matters and that same rule applies to your resume. Companies want employees who can work efficiently and accurately to meet tight deadlines and productivity targets. Instead of making general statements about your responsibilities and experience, aim to quantify your achievements with hard numbers. This allows the hiring manager to assess your ability level and lets you show off your most notable accomplishments.
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example
Medical Coding Manager, Capital Anesthesia Billing Services, Charlotte, NC May 2015 – Present
- Manage, develop, and hire a team of 10+ medical coders and billing specialists, oversee onboarding and training procedures, evaluate performance, and provide coaching and mentorship to enhance operational effectiveness
- Interface with patients, medical providers, and insurers to review claims adjustments, denials, and billing errors and develop payment plans to reduce aging accounts
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
Medical Office Billing Assistant, Nevada Professional Group, Las Vegas, NV January 2020 – Present
- Translate patient information into code, enter medical records into the EHR database, and ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations and data protection laws for confidential information
- Coordinate insurance reimbursement to care providers, process payments from patients and insurers, ensure accuracy, and resolve billing errors
3. Include medical billing and coding specialist-related education and certifications
For medical billing and coding specialists, a high school diploma is the usual minimum requirement. But no matter your level of education, list your highest degree or diploma first. You can include any relevant coursework here, too.
Keep in mind that while you don’t need a billing or coding certificate to legally perform the job, many employers will require certified specialists. The Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Professional Biller (CPB) are the most common credentials. These prove to employers you’re familiar with code assignment and understand compliance with health care regulations.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Medical Billing and Coding Diploma
- Northwest Career College, Las Vegas, NV | 2018
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- Certified Professional Coder – AAPC, January 2018
- Certified Professional Biller – AAPC, renewed June 2020
4. Include a list of skills and proficiencies related to medical billing and coding specialists
Before you start writing your medical billing and coding resume, it’s important to understand how hiring managers distinguish the strongest candidates from a large pool of applicants. Many use applicant tracking systems (ATS), a type of software that scans resumes for the key skills the company wants most.
Knowing which terms employers are likely to look for can help flag your resume to the hiring manager for all the right reasons. Use phrases like the keywords below to grab the attention of potential employers:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Accounting | Billing procedures |
| Conflict resolution | Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) |
| Customer service | Data analysis |
| Data entry | Data management |
| Data protection laws | HIPAA regulations |
| Insurance claims | International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) |
| Medical billing | Medical coding |
| Medical terminology | Microsoft Excel |
| Microsoft Office Suite | Patient confidentiality |
| Patient relations | Team leadership |
5. Feature your knowledge of medical terminology and regulations
Being a medical billing and coding specialist requires extensive knowledge of medical terminology, insurance practices, and treatment and diagnosis codes. Hiring managers want to see you have a comprehensive understanding of insurance and medical terms to resolve complex billing issues.
Health care is a rapidly evolving industry that experiences continuous changes in regulations and technology. Every October, codes are updated by the American Medical Association (AMA) to reflect these changes. Your accuracy is dependent on staying up to date each year, so emphasize your ability to adapt to new health care regulations and standards.
How To Pick the Best Medical Billing and Coding Resume Template
The foundation of any effective medical billing and coding resume is a solid template. It must be clean, organized, and easy to read. Hiring managers should be able to effortlessly scan your resume and capture all they need to know in a matter of seconds. Look for a template that reflects the standards of the health care industry. Designs that look professional and orderly are best. Avoid styles that use multiple colors or a lot of graphics.
Medical Billing and Coding Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Entry-level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-level
Jillian Jacobson
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
111 First Avenue, Boise, ID 83701
Profile
A Certified Medical Billing and Coding Specialist with five years of experience, specializing in coding, payment processing, and insurance claims. A proven track record of identifying process improvement opportunities to enhance billing procedures.
Professional Experience
Lead Medical Biller, Boise Presbyterian Hospital, Boise, ID
June 2015 – Present
- Identify opportunities to improve billing procedures by automating manual data entry processes, resulting in a 10% improvement in billing accuracy and a reduction of over 15 work hours per week
- Develop a knowledge base of common billing errors and provide remedial training to team members to improve issue resolution times by 15%
- Troubleshoot issues with claims, review patient and insurance records, obtain supplemental information from healthcare providers to ensure accurate billing
Junior Medical Biller, Office of Dr. Ron Ronald, Boise, ID
July 2013 – May 2015
- Coordinated with patients to ensure accurate processing of Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance claims and liaised with insurance representatives
- Processed payments, insurance claims, and adjustments, gathered patient information, and performed reviews to reduce risk of billing errors
Education
Associate of Science in Health Information Management
BOISE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, Boise, ID, September 2012 – June 2013
Key Skills
- Medical Cording
- ICD-10-CM
- HCPCS Level II
- Patient Relations
- Inpatient and Outpatient Claims Processing
Certifications
- Certified Coding Associate, American Health Information Management Association, 2017
- Certified Professional Coder, American Coding Association, 2020
Frequently Asked Questions: Medical Billing and Coding Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for medical billing and coding resumes?-
If you struggle to describe your past work, use action verbs. These dynamic words allow you to concisely communicate your thoughts. They also help hiring managers understand the scope of your abilities. In your professional experience section, start each bullet point with an action verb for the best effect. As you write your medical billing and coding resume, use words like those in our list below:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Analyzed | Audited |
| Calculated | Coded |
| Communicated | Conducted |
| Coordinated | Designed |
| Developed | Enhanced |
| Executed | Identified |
| Implemented | Improved |
| Oversaw | Performed |
| Provided | Reconciled |
| Resolved | Supported |
How do you align your resume with a medical billing and coding job description?-
Jobs for medical billing and coding professionals, also known as medical records and health information specialists, are expected to increase by 8% over the next 10 years. Despite the positive outlook, you must still align your resume with the job description to differentiate yourself from the competition and secure the most lucrative opportunities.
Hiring managers often receive reams of applications for every post, and they have to sift through them to find the candidates with the precise skills they seek. Demonstrate your suitability for the role and show your understanding of the job requirements by tailoring your resume for each job you apply for.
For instance, suppose a health care facility needs a medical billing and coding specialist with experience in oncology billing and coding. In that case, emphasize your proficiency in oncology-related coding systems such as The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology ( ICD-O) and your experience in processing claims for cancer treatments.
What is the best medical billing and coding resume format?-
Reverse chronological is the ideal format for medical billing and coding resumes. This approach places your professional experience front and center, starting with your most recent and relevant work history. The reverse chronological format is preferred by hiring managers and recruiters, as it allows them to easily evaluate your achievements and career progression.
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To increase your chances of getting an interview during your job search, craft a cover letter. The best strategy for creating a strong cover letter is aligning your document with the needs of the organization you’re applying to. Learn how you can do this with our comprehensive cover letter guide. See our medical receptionist and data entry cover letter guides for more examples.
