Can someone tell me what exactly HEALTH CARE SERVICES is?

BSC14 · Sep 16, 2003

Come one guys.....

And what's coding?

CaliforniaRN · Sep 16, 2003

Hey BSC14! Remember DRGs (Diagnosis Related Groups for acute care) and one you may not be aware of for long term care, RUGs (Resident Utilization Groups)? These are Medicare classifications for diagnoses and procedures. In order for insitutions to receive payments for any type of service or procedure for which Medicare will be paying, the service or procedure must be attached to a diagnosis. There are special codes for each diagnosis or group of diagnoses. These codes, if done properly by a trained "coder" determine how high or low the reimbursement will be that an institution receives from Medicare for a particular patient with a particular diagnosis or diagnoses or procedures. A lot of responsibility lies on the shoulders of a "coder". They must understand a great deal about diseases and procedures in order to code correctly. They can make or break a facility by coding incorrectly. We must always show coders respect and understanding. They also are overworked and underpaid. I have a coder who provides me with ICD-9 codes for all the diagnoses and treatments the patients on my small DP/SNF receive during their stay with us. I depend on my coder to tell me how to list my diagnoses and treatments in order of priority and which ones will maximize my chances for a strong and high reimbursement based on the clinical data I provide to Medicare. With Medicare, reimbursements are never high, so you need a very qualified coder to point you in the right direction!

BSC14 · Sep 16, 2003

I was under the impression coding was a good paying job? So what kind of jobs would you look for with a Bachelors in HEALTH CARE SERVICES?

TeenyBabyRN · Sep 16, 2003

Depends on what you consider to be good...

Medical coding specialists make, on the average, about $13.50 per hour ($28,500/yr) with the range being $9.60-17.30 per hour ($20,000-36,000/yr), depending on demographics. (Information from mshealthcareers.com and salary.com)

The Bachelor degree in Health Care Services is geared toward health care administration positions. Health care administrators are responsible for managing health care facilities such as hospitals, surgery centers, and nursing homes. Most of these organizations, however, require at least a master's degree in health services administration, nursing administration, or business administration for the position of administrator. The BHCS degree is meant to be a stepping stone to one of these degrees.