First of all, most medical offices consist of two distinct workplace areas: the front office and the back office. Front office medical assistants perform administrative and clerical duties. They tend to carry out tasks related to reception, medical records, files, insurance billing, computerized accounting, answering telephones and emails, and appointment scheduling, among the array of duties and responsibilities. Back office medical assistants perform hands-on patient care.

Front office medical assistants specifically work in the front office section of the clinic or medical office. They are often entrusted with the responsibility of doing medical billing and coding. The medical bill is generated based on the diagnoses and procedures that had been rendered during the patient’s visit to the clinic, doctors office, hospital or other type of healthcare agency. If the patient is insured, a claim is sent to the patient’s medical insurance company for reimbursement.

Each medical diagnosis has an ICD code. ICD stands for the International Classification of Diseases. ICD-10 is a clinical system that went into effect in late 2015 to replace the ICD-9. The difference between the ICD-9 and the ICD-10 is the reality that ICD-10 codes offer substantially more classification options when compared with those found in the ICD-9. Without further ado, some common ICD-10 codes and the corresponding diagnoses are listed below:

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complications: E11.9
• Alzheimer’s disease, unspecified: G30.9
• Benign essential hypertension: I10
• Urinary tract infection, site not specified: N39.0
• Pregnancy care for patient with recurrent pregnancy loss: O26.2
• Morbid (severe) obesity due to excess calories: E66.01
• Underweight: R63.6
• Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild: F33.0
• Other specified anxiety disorders: F41.8 
• Encounter for routine child health examination: Z00.12
• Encounter for routine gynecological examination: Z01.41