Job Stress: When Medical Billing Codes Are More Than Numbers

Every job comes with its unique stress factors. Even medical coding, which seems rather benign compared to other jobs, can be stressful at times. One of the biggest causes of stress in our industry is feeling the emotional weight of certain diagnosis codes. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, medical coders have had to deal with this particular stress factor more often.

Medical billing codes are little more than numbers to insurance companies. To doctors and advanced practice nurses, they can be a nuisance inasmuch as assigning the right code isn't always the easiest task in the world. It would seem that the codes wouldn't mean much to the people who actually look them up for a living. But things are not always as they seem.

Diagnosis Codes Mean Things

As medical coding specialists, we deal with both administration and diagnosis codes. All those codes mean something. From the diagnosis perspective, a code represents the condition, injury, or illness a patient is suffering from. That is simple enough to understand from a technical point of view. But what if you go deeper?

There are a number of diagnostic codes that apply to cancer. Every entry represents someone diagnosed with a potentially deadly disease. Every entry represents the possibility that someone is fighting for their life in a battle that may not be winnable. We medical coders try not to think on such things too much, but sometimes we cannot help ourselves.

Those are the moments when medical billing codes are more than just numbers to us. They represent real people struggling with real pain and sorrow. Thinking on such things too much can lead to overwhelming job stress.

Other Stressful Factors

It is not unusual for coding specialists to have bad days because they have been dealing with too many cancer codes. It is no longer odd for coders to be overwhelmed by one COVID diagnosis after another. But there are other stress factors to consider. Among them are worries of making mistakes.

Medical billing errors slow down payment and increase a coder's workload. Whenever a bill is rejected due to inaccurate coding, it needs to go back into the system and be recoded. This doesn't make healthcare providers happy. Insurance companies are not too thrilled, either.

Medical billing and coding specialists are therefore under the gun to minimize errors. They work with a question always residing in the backs of their minds: have I coded this procedure or diagnosis correctly? Constantly working under the stress leads coders to second-guess themselves.

Don't Be Afraid to Get Help

Job stress is normal in every career. No job is so perfect that a person goes an entire career without experiencing stress. And for the most part, people have the ability to manage a certain level of stress without it affecting performance. But that is not always the case. When stress becomes a problem, it is in a person's best interests to get help.

Stress is unhealthy. It can lead to all sorts of physical, mental, and emotional issues if it's not dealt with. As such, we encourage you to get help if you are feeling that your job is too stressful for you. Talk to someone in management. If they cannot help, talk to your doctor or seek out a mental health specialist.

People look at the medical billing industry and fail to recognize that it can be a stressful industry to work in. If you are feeling like those diagnosis codes are more than just numbers, talk to somebody who can help. Don't hold on to your stress.

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