The doctor has probably attended coding conferences and/or has a limited number of exams that are used regularly. It's probably all spelled out on a "superbill" to make it even easier. It would be more of a medical billing clerk duty rather than a medical coding position since you would be doing very limited actual coding. I think you can do it.

The coding you'll do will be limited in scope, because of the type of office, but it will be more "billing" and not so much "coding." That makes it easier.

What you learn on the job can tide you over for now. When you're ready to learn all of it for real, then you can take a course.

Most coders in the past started out just that same way.

Family Practice coding? Limited? Hardly.

You will need to learn the gamut of CPT, ICD, and HCPCS coding. You'll be faced with coding for injections AND the materials used, for inhalation solutions and masks. You'll need to code for surgeries, as FPs often assist at anything from C-sections to orthopedics to abdominal surgery. You'll need to become familiar with nearly ALL the modifiers, as there will be office visits combine with surgical codes--there are plenty of surgical codes used in FP.

You'll need to code for initial treatment of fractures regardless of whether it's casted. And you'll need the codes for re-casting, and necessary modifiers for any done within the postop period. And strapping, etc.

You'll need to know the complexity and size of wounds that are repaired and the location of multiple lesions on different parts of the body.

If you expect that all to be placed on the superbill by the physician...think again.

You'll have to ask if there was an EKG done for a pre-op examination, if there was or was not a Pap done at a well-woman visit, and if the headache was a symptom or result of stress. The latter penalizes the patient with a 50% reduction in psych-related visits.

But...it is interesting, even fun, and the MOST IMPORTANT THING is to learn HOW to read the code books, and refer not only to specific sections, but also to the paragraphs that introduce each section, and the intro to the systems in front of those sections. The information is all there. You just need to know how to find it, and to cross-reference the alpha indices with the numeric indices.

As with transcription, limiting billing and coding to one specialty is more crippling than enabling.

It is so important for potential coders to hear that the more you know about coding, the more options and greater pay opportunities you'll have available to you.

A great opportunity to shine.