Specialization: Your Advantage as a Medical Coding Contractor

Medical coding contractors offer a valuable service to healthcare providers who would rather outsource coding and billing rather than handling things in-house. Some contractors are better than others, but there is one thing they all have in common: the need to present some sort of value proposition in order to land new clients. As a contractor, your value proposition is the advantage you offer. And that advantage is specialization.

You specialize in medical coding and billing in the sense that it is all your company does. On the other hand, a consulting firm whose main focus is helping healthcare providers manage the revenue cycle may tack on medical coding and billing services. But medical coding and billing are not their specialties. The revenue cycle is. Can they give their clients the best possible coding and billing services? Probably not.

Highly Skilled Work

Both medical coding and billing are highly skilled positions that require a considerable amount of training and experience. The general coders a firm might bring in to fill out rudimentary coding and billing services probably don't have what it takes to give clients the best possible results. General coders do have a place at the table, but they are no substitute for specialized coders and billers with additional training and skill.

Don't forget the amount of knowledge required to efficiently practice coding and billing with as few errors as possible. Yes, even general coders need to understand ICD-10-CM diagnostic codes. They need to have a handle on both the CPT and HCPCS code sets. They also need a basic understanding of HIPAA compliance, NPI lookup, etc.

However, general knowledge only goes so far when applying medical coding and billing to various specialties. A coder or biller in cardiology has an entirely different knowledge base and skillset compared to a peer working in radiology. Likewise for coders and billers in oncology, psychiatry, and even dentistry. Different specialties require different skill sets and knowledge.

Promote Yourself and Your Firm

Your advantage as a medical coding and billing contractor is specialization. Promote yourself and your firm by offering specialization as the value proposition revenue cycle consultants cannot offer. Do not be afraid to point out that clients would not trust your firm with revenue cycle management because that's not what you do. Likewise, revenue cycle consultants are not in a particularly good position to offer specialized medical coding and billing.

As long as you are going to promote your firm as a specialist provider, go out of your way to make sure you have the best of the best on your team. Seek out those trained and certified medical coders and billers who know their stuff. As for the general coders that you will have on staff, and there will be some, invest the time and energy in helping them become the experts your firm needs to best serve clients.

Offering Service Isn't Enough

As medical coding and billing continue to evolve, they become more complex. It is becoming increasingly clear that offering medical coding and billing services is not enough. Healthcare providers need contractors who specialize in the same types of things they do. They need contractors who understand specialized terminology, procedures, diagnoses, etc.

Whatever area your firm specializes in should be the focus of your marketing. Don't try to be something you're not. Focus on what you and your team do best, and then make that the value proposition you offer to new clients. Specialization is your advantage. It is what sets you apart from firms that offer medical coding and billing along with a full menu of additional services. Run with it.

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