Medical coding is the practice of reading clinical documentation and assigning standardized codes for diagnoses and services.
Those codes help healthcare organizations communicate, measure quality, and support reimbursement processes. Coding is not the same as treating patients, and it is not identical to medical billing — though the two disciplines work closely together.
If you are exploring this career, start with terminology, documentation literacy, and the structure of ICD-10-CM and CPT. Practice with realistic notes matters more than memorizing isolated codes.
This article is educational and is not a job guarantee or official credential guide.