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Medical Coder Resume Examples to Help You Build Yours

Medical coding allows people to access medical attention. Here’s how you should create a resume for a medical coder job.

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By Ho Lin 3 minute read

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Medical Coder Resume Example

Medical coding specialists take the diagnoses a patient receives, the treatment they need, and other medical information and turn them into codes that an automated system can easily parse, making it easier to organize patient records. Here’s what you need to know to create a resume that showcases the highly specialized skills you need as a medical coder.

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What to Highlight in a Medical Coder Resume

Your knowledge of coding procedures and coding guidelines will be paramount for your resume. Highlight not only the fact that you have knowledge of coding but also your efficacy in doing so and avoiding any mistakes. High-quality medical coders help organizations avoid audits and save money.

Structure of a Medical Coder Resume

The structure of your medical coder resume will largely depend on the resume format you end up using. The chronological format, which emphasizes your work history, is most common, but if you don’t have much work history to on, then you might use the functional format or the combination format. These headings will be the same in every resume, although you may have to change how you structure them.

Header

>At the very top of your resume will be the header, which includes your full name, your contact information, and professional networking links like your LinkedIn.

Resume summary or objective

Next is your resume summary or resume objective. This gives recruiters a “quick look” at your resume, as this two-to-three sentence paragraph should explain your important strengths and accomplishments. For entry-level resumes, a resume objective is best, as it also includes a statement of your career or job goals.

Skills

Your skills will be a primary part of the benefits you provide to an employer as a coding expert. Here are a few of the bullet points that you might want to focus on as part of your resume writing:

  • Knowledge of medical terminology and general healthcare
  • Ability to scan medical records
  • Experience with insurance companies and medical billing
  • Knowledge of different coding systems (CPT coding, CPT-4, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, DRG, HCPCS codes)
  • Inpatient vs. outpatient coding
  • Knowledge of different specialties (Radiology, family practice, pediatrics, orthopedics)
  • How to handle patient information and medical documentation with regards to HIPAA

These skills will help you read patient charts and then effectively code them. While most of these are hard skills, soft skills like communication skills can also be beneficial in proving to hiring managers that you’re the right choice.

Work history

Your work experience section should include up to the last ten years of experience in coding and related areas. For example, you could list work as a healthcare provider, a data entry worker, or in another field where you manage patient medical records or handle reimbursement claims.

Education

Most hiring managers want you to have at least a bachelor’s degree, with some programs requiring a master’s degree. It’s also best to become a certified medical coder. The industry standard coding certification is the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certification from the AAPC, which is important to list on your professional resume.

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Do’s and Don’ts for a Medical Coder Resume

check sign Do's
  • Emphasize skills and experiences that show how you can help the company. Consult the job posting and note what the employer needs, than try to answer those needs through your resume
  • Include any other experience you have with medical information or working in a medical office. This shows you’re familiar with the information you’re coding.
  • Showcase that you’re good at data entry as well as the actual coding. Knowing how to navigate an Excel spreadsheet is a great tool for a medical coder.
close sign Don'ts
  • Apply to medical coding jobs before looking at the certifications required. The job description should indicate what certifications are necessary for that specific job.
  • Include work experience that’s completely irrelevant to the job. If you have non-relevant experience, then you can include it on your LinkedIn.
  • Include health information from any clients you worked for in the past. When citing previous experience, avoid discussing specific patient information.

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FAQ: Medical Coder Resumes

Have questions? We’re here to help.

Yes. A cover letter is a great way to show how much you care about getting the job, and it’s a helpful addition to your application overall, as it lets you openly ask for the job interview. If you’re not sure how to write a cover letter, then just use the ResumeHelp cover letter builder for an easier experience.

If you don’t have much experience, then you’ll need to learn more about your skills. You can write a great professional resume without lots of experience. Companies mostly want to know that you understand treatment and diagnosis codes so that their systems function smoothly. Put the focus on that and important skills like flexibility and attention to detail, rather than on your lack of experience.

When you have a basic medical coder resume, you need to use resume keywords to tailor that resume to different jobs. Click on the link above to get an understanding of how you can get keywords from the job description and apply them to your resume. The resume builder from ResumeHelp can also help you create a professional resume tuned perfectly to your specific needs, with expert-designed templates to create the right resume for you.

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Ho Lin Profile
WRITTEN BY Ho Lin

Ho Lin is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and editor with two decades of experience in content strategy, creation, and development. He holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and his background includes experience aiding military veterans as they transition to civilian careers.

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