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Billing and Coding: Disparities in Healthcare Provider Training
Brittany Romans, Elaine Nguyen, Michael Biddle
1Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2533 Providence Drive, PSB 111C, Anchorage, AK 99507, USA. Tel 907-786-6233. reneerobinson@isu.edu.
Journal of Allied Health
|March 3, 2022
Summary
Most healthcare providers lack essential coding and billing training, leaving them unprepared for reimbursement. This crucial skill gap impacts sustainable healthcare service provision and requires urgent curriculum development.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Education
- Medical Billing and Coding
- Health Services Administration
Background:
- Healthcare providers in the U.S. are responsible for documenting encounters, coding services, and submitting insurance claims for reimbursement.
- A significant gap exists as most eligible providers do not receive formal training in coding and billing during their education.
- This lack of training can impede efficient healthcare operations and financial sustainability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and provide an overview of the disparities in coding and billing training across various healthcare disciplines.
- To identify the extent to which coding and billing are integrated into the didactic curricula of top universities.
Main Methods:
- A survey was distributed to the top 100 universities across five healthcare disciplines: dietetics, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and medicine.
- Data collected included information on available didactic curriculum and coding/billing resources provided during training.
- Results were analyzed and compared across disciplines, geographic regions, funding mechanisms, and institutional size.
Main Results:
- Participation rates varied, with public institutions showing a higher response rate (73%).
- Coding and billing coverage in curricula differed significantly by discipline (p<0.0001). Dietetics programs had the highest coverage (93%), while social work (0%) and medical schools (5%) had the lowest.
- No significant differences in coverage were found based on geographic region or funding source.
Conclusions:
- Graduating healthcare professionals are often inadequately prepared to perform essential coding and billing tasks.
- The inconsistent inclusion of coding and billing education in healthcare curricula poses a risk to the sustainable provision of health services.
- Further research is necessary to address this identified training gap and ensure providers are equipped for financial aspects of healthcare delivery.
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