Medical Coder Resume Example & Writing Guide
- What should your medical coder resume include?
- How can you create a professional summary?
- How should you describe your work experience as a medical coder?
- Include a fitting medical coder resume education and certifications section
- Which key skills are relevant for a medical coder resume?
- How to select the most impactful medical coder resume template
- Copyable medical coder resume example
- Key takeaways for writing a medical coder resume
Get ready to drive your medical coder career forward with our resume example & writing guide. Master the art of showcasing your skills and expertise and learn the strategic ways to format your resume so you stand out to hiring managers who are looking for great medical coders.
If you are someone who loves contributing to the healthcare industry, medical coding can be an exciting job. To be successful, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of medical terminology, experience using a variety of coding systems, and familiarity with healthcare regulations and guidelines. You’ll also need a stellar resume to ensure you stand out from the competition.
In this writing guide and the attached resume example, we will cover exactly what you need to include in your medical coder resume. Here’s what we will look at:
What should a medical coder resume include?
Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education)
Adding relevant key skills to your resume
Choosing the right resume template for a medical coder
What should your medical coder resume include?
Along with showing your experience and training in the medical coding industry, your resume will also need to present your expertise in data analysis and quality assurance. You’ll also want to demonstrate you know how to audit patient charts, report outcomes, and review patient care records. Maintaining high production and accuracy rates is also key to demonstrating you are a skilled medical coder. All of these skills should be written on your resume in an easy-to-read and professional format.
Your medical coder resume should contain the following elements:
The resume header with your contact information
The resume summary
The employment history section
The resume skills section
The education section
How can you create a professional summary?
Since your background is so important in this industry, starting with a short statement that lists your most valuable skills is a great option. You can use this statement to highlight things like your experience in accurate coding or billing. Keep in mind that this is a statement you can customize around what is most important to the specific role.
Following this statement, dive into your key qualifications. This is where you can draw more attention to your biggest achievements in the medical coding field. Here, you can highlight your track record for success and accuracy rates, go over what types of charts and medical records you have experience with, and even mention the medical procedures you’ve worked with in the past.
See our adaptable medical coder resume summary below.
Accomplished healthcare professional with demonstrated experience in accurate coding, compliance, billing, and auditing of emergency room medical records.
How should you describe your work experience as a medical coder?
The work experience section is where you can further demonstrate your skills and training as a medical coder. Be sure to mention what type of medical offices you’ve worked with and how your experience has progressed. You can also go over the type of work you’ve done in each role and mention even more of the skills that you have.
This portion of your resume should be listed in reverse chronological order. Each role should be presented with your job title, place of employment, and years of employment. Once you’ve given a brief overview of the position, you can call out some of your key achievements for that role by using bullet points.
It’s important to use quantifiable results whenever possible. Accuracy and production rates are both great options to include on a medical coder resume.
For example:
Enhanced office accuracy rating by maintaining production rate of 130 charts with 99% accuracy rate.
Take a look at the adaptable medical coder resume employment history section below.
Coder at University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, Colorado 2015 - present
Progressed from coding office visits and eye procedures at the hospital’s Eye Clinic to assuming independent responsibility for all revenue cycle operations at the Cancer Center for all office visits and bone marrow procedures.
Maintain high standards across a broad range of functions that span charts review, coding, claims, and appeals.
Sustained high production rates with an average daily turnover of over 80 charts, ensuring 95% accuracy in coding.
Utilized the latest computer-assisted coding (CAC) software and tools such as Epic and 3M, along with MS Office.
Coder at ATD Resources, Lakewood, Colorado 2011 - 2015
Coded range of ER procedures and in-patient consults for ER physicians.
Translated patient histories, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments into codes for effective billing and record-keeping.
Reviewed patient records to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Overcame challenging demands of emergency room (ER) setting while coding emergency physicians’ charts.
Achieved a daily production rate of 125 charts with 99% accuracy levels.
Coder at Lynx Medical Systems, Boulder, Colorado 2009 - 2011
Performed high-volume physician and facility coding for emergency department.
Liaised with healthcare professionals to ensure error-free record-keeping to meet regulatory requirements.
Maintained strict confidentiality while dealing with patient information.
Provided timely completion of emergency medicine coding services with daily production rates of 150 charts with 95% accuracy.
Include a fitting medical coder resume education and certifications section
To be a medical coder, you will need to be certified and trained. That’s why formatting your education and certifications section correctly is so important. In the educational background section, you should include all relevant certifications and training you have available. You should also include the education programs you attended. Here are some additional tips to keep in mind:
Keep it professional. Only add relevant information to your list and avoid any personal hobbies or associations.
List your most important certification first. Some of your certifications may be more important than others, so list them in order of importance. If all are equally as important, start with the certification you received most recently and work backward from there.
Be concise. Your list should be clean and concise with only the most important information listed. You should only include the name of the certification and which education establishment you earned it from.
Medical Assistant Certification at Institute of Business and Medical Careers
Registered Medical Assistant
Certified Professional Coder at American Academy Professional Coders
Certified Professional Medical Auditor at American Academy Professional Coders
Which key skills are relevant for a medical coder resume?
On your resume, you should demonstrate that you have a comprehensive range of skills that are relevant to the medical coding profession. A hiring manager will be looking for these skills throughout your resume, so you should place them strategically.
Start by taking a closer look at the job description. Which skills are most important for this role? How do your skills transfer to this role? Being able to answer these questions with your resume will help ensure your resume is ready to pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS) and find itself on a hiring manager’s desk. (To learn more about how you can optimize your resume for an ATS, check out our blog post: Resume ATS optimization.)
You’ll find key skills for a medical coding professional sprinkled throughout our resume template. It’s important to include relevant skills throughout the document, including in your work history and professional summary so a hiring manager will notice them. For a medical coding professional, some of the top skills might include:
Medical coding (ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS Codes)
Electronic health records
Medical terminology
Coding systems and guidelines
Healthcare reimbursement methodologies
Medical chart auditing
Computer-assisted coding (CAC) software & tools
How to select the most impactful medical coder resume template
Your resume should be professional, clear, and organized, which are also important skills for a medical coder to have. You should focus the format on the content of your resume rather than the design. That means choosing a format that is simple and easy to read is the best option. It’s also a good idea to choose a template that you can easily customize for each job you want to apply for.
Typically, you should keep your medical coder resume to one page. However, if you have many years of experience in the industry, adding an additional page is appropriate.
By visiting our resume builder, you’ll be able to browse through a variety of templates that can easily be customized for a medical coding position. We have over 100 resume examples available that you can choose from for your specific situation.
Copyable medical coder resume example
Summary example
Accomplished healthcare professional with demonstrated experience in accurate coding, compliance, billing, and auditing of emergency room medical records.
Employment history example
Coder at University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, Colorado 2015 - present
Progressed from coding office visits and eye procedures at the hospital’s Eye Clinic to assuming independent responsibility for all revenue cycle operations at the Cancer Center for all office visits and bone marrow procedures.
Maintain high standards across a broad range of functions that span charts review, coding, claims, and appeals.
Sustained high production rates with an average daily turnover of over 80 charts, ensuring 95% accuracy in coding.
Utilized the latest computer-assisted coding (CAC) software and tools such as Epic and 3M, along with MS Office.
Coder at ATD Resources, Lakewood, Colorado 2011 - 2015
Coded range of ER procedures and in-patient consults for ER physicians.
Translated patient histories, symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments into codes for effective billing and record-keeping.
Reviewed patient records to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Overcame challenging demands of emergency room (ER) setting while coding emergency physicians’ charts.
Achieved a daily production rate of 125 charts with 99% accuracy levels.
Coder at Lynx Medical Systems, Boulder, Colorado 2009 - 2011
Performed high-volume physician and facility coding for emergency department.
Liaised with healthcare professionals to ensure error-free record-keeping to meet regulatory requirements.
Maintained strict confidentiality while dealing with patient information.
Provided timely completion of emergency medicine coding services with daily production rates of 150 charts with 95% accuracy.
Education example
Medical Assistant Certification at Institute of Business and Medical Careers
Registered Medical Assistant
Certified Professional Coder at American Academy Professional Coders
Certified Professional Medical Auditor at American Academy Professional Coders
Skills example
coding and auditing emergency room charts and inpatient/outpatient records
processing reimbursements
reporting outcomes
aiding quick and easy insurance adjudication
conducting audits and reviews of current coding processes
educate peers and physicians about correct coding procedures and documentation
medical procedures: chemotherapy, hydration infusions, bone marrow procedures, critical/emergency care
Key takeaways for writing a medical coder resume
A medical coding career is perfect for those who enjoy giving back and making a difference in the healthcare industry.
Craft your resume to strategically highlight your experience in medical coding, data analytics, quality assurance, and compliance with healthcare regulations.
Choose a resume format that is professional, easy to customize, and adaptable for each job opportunity.
