Do you dream of furthering your career as a medical biller or coder?
If you would love to work in the healthcare industry and enjoy daily challenges and helping others, working as a medical billing and coding specialist may be just the role for you.
The job involves working with insurance companies, doctors, nurses, patients, and other health professionals. So, if you are a people person too with strong customer service skills, that certainly helps. When interacting with these groups, it is your role to make sure that all medical billing and coding is completed accurately and on-time to ensure proper payments and reimbursements.
If you are ready to take the first step in your career journey, you may be wondering what some common interview questions are for medical billing and coding specialist positions. We are here to help, so you can succeed at that interview. Here are some of the questions likely to come up.
Questions on Particular Practices
Your medical billing and coding interview questions may begin with a session tailored to the interviewer’s healthcare practice. That means the questions may concentrate on the billing process with the insurance firms that the practice’s patients most often use. They may also focus on the most common procedures that the practice performs.
Here are a few questions you can expect related to a particular practice:
- Which insurance systems have you billed?
- Which procedures do you have experience with billing?
- Which forms do you have experience using, including computer software?
Questions on Medical Terminology
Medical coding interview questions also include those related to medical terminology.
Many employers will quiz candidates on their knowledge of coding and terminology, so it is important that you are aware of medical terms. In many cases, if you have plenty of knowledge of coding terminology, it can make up for any lack of previous hands-on experience.
That means for first-time medical billing candidates, learning common medical terminology is especially important.
Some medical billing job interviews are sure to include direct questions linked to medical terminology, so be prepared to give the right answers. Here are some examples:
- Have you taken any medical terminology classes?
- Can you explain what Otis media is?
- Are you aware of the strep test? What is it?
Questions on Electronic Medical Records Knowledge
The healthcare industry is rapidly moving toward electronic health records, meaning that billing will need to keep up – by using software applications.
That means you should be willing to talk about your experience with electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records (EHRs). If you have experience working with both paper and electronic claims, that is even better.
Some classic questions on electronic medical records include:
- Does your current employer use EMR or EHR?
- What experience do you have working with EMR?
- Have you used any software programs such as Epic, Medisoft, or any others? If so, which version that program have you used?
- Do you have experience working with an EMR claims clearinghouse?
- What computer experience do you have?
Questions on Hard Skills
Medical coding interview questions are sure to involve queries on your hard skills to make sure that you can work the job correctly and file claims efficiently. As many health insurance regulations change daily, you will also have to answer how you stay up-to-date with the latest industry regulations.
If you are not keeping up, that may be a worry to employers as you may be billing incorrectly. Employers may even quiz you by asking how you would resolve a denied claim.
Questions relating to hard skills for medical billing and coding jobs include:
- Do you hold a medical billing certification? If not, are you in the process of becoming certified or are you planning to become certified?
- How do you keep up-to-date with insurance and healthcare coverage regulations and best practices?
- How long does it take you to process a day’s worth of patient visits or claims?
Regarding the last question, usually, employers seek billers that answer “within two days” or similar. This is so you are able to keep up with the workload.
Questions on Soft Skills
Medical billers also need to possess some soft skills. You will need to be patient, flexible, and able to calm patients if necessary. You will need a strong phone presence.
You must also have the qualities and skills to work with patients who refuse to pay their bills or become angry due to any type of issue.
By asking questions on soft skills, employers can see that you have the skills necessary to cope with unsettling challenges that medical billers and coders often face. You can demonstrate that you can work well with different types of patients and can help maximize practice revenue by helping patients who refuse to pay their bills.
Some common questions on soft skills can include:
- Please talk about the last claim you had denied. What happened, and how did you help resolve it?
- What’s your usual strategy for dealing with a denied claim?
- What’s your most difficult patient-collection experience, and how did you resolve it?
- What are the problems you have encountered with patients refusing to pay bills in the past?
Answering Medical Billing Interview Questions
It is important that you prepare answers to all the types of medical billing interview questions above.
However, when you go to your interview, your knowledge is the most important part. Make sure that you are aware of the different areas of the industry and can back up your knowledge with strong answers.
Interviewers will want to know that you are flexible and can adapt to a constantly changing work environment. They will also want to know that you can work whatever software they use in their practice and that you are able to keep up with your workload.
All employers are looking for calm, obedient, team players who can work independently when asked, with minimal direction.
If you are not there yet, but you are interested in becoming a medical billing and coding specialist in the future, we can help. Learn more about our Medical Billing and Coding Diploma here.