Difference between medical billing and medical transcription

Almost everyone in the health care industry is aware of the terms—medical billing and medical transcription. However, only a few people are able to differentiate between these two terms. Since both terms are associated with the hospital’s administrative task it is natural for anyone to get confused between the two. But one must understand that these two terms are different both in terms of definition/meaning and purpose. So what is the difference between medical billing and medical transcription?

Medical Billing

Medical billing refers to the process of generating a medical bill for the reimbursement of insurance claims. The medical billing cycle consists of three parties namely the patient, health care providers, and insurance payer. The process is imperative in making the reimbursement process hassle-free and also plays an important role in preventing denied claims or fraud. A minor mistake in the medical bill may result in a dirty claim. The medical biller ensures that information like the patient’s personal details, medical history, procedures performed and charges for the procedures must be typed correctly. A clean claim in medical billing is the key to get maximum reimbursement. Moreover, medical billing is a process involving steps like:

• Eligibility and Verification
• Medical Coding
• Charge Entry
• Claims Submission

The above-mentioned four steps are indispensable for they ensure that the health care provider gets paid for the medical care service he/she offers to the patient.

Medical Transcription

Medical transcription refers to the process of transcribing a patient’s consultations into a medical record. The purpose of medical transcription is to convert the patient’s data into written or printed form. The transcriptionist works closely with both doctors and patients to turn audios into written notes. He/she may also record the conversation between doctor and patient for the ease of making notes and revisiting the audios to prevent errors. Unlike a medical biller, a medical transcriptionist is not trained to generate a bill or assign code. The medical transcriptionist may hold an associate’s degree, certificate or diploma. On the other hand, the medical biller begins with an associate’s degree but is also required to have a certificate.

Nowadays, hospitals are outsourcing medical billing and collection and medical transcription services from medical billing companies to get the most of both services. This ensures administrative assistance from certified medical billers and medical transcription.