by Brian Conti
(Birmingham, Alabama)
I have a National Medical Billing/Coding specialist Certification from The National Healthcareer Association.
Is an NHIT Certification also important to obtain. How many and which certs. should I look into obtaining to help with the fact that I have no on the job experience. Thanks Brian C.
Response:
Brian,
One of the toughest aspects of this profession is the difficulty getting hired without experience. I think I was lucky that someone gave me a chance when I got started – I think I actually offered to work for free for a while just to get some experience.
The NHA CBCS (Certified Billing and Coding Specialist) certainly demonstrates you meet standards of competency that would be attractive to an employer. Certainly another certification makes you even more attractive and demonstrates you commitment to the profession.
But if you’re just trying to get into medical billing, I don’t know that additional certification is going to address the experience issue. Just about all the ads I see now for medical billing or coding request some level of experience.
I think it’s easier to get a medical billing job without certification than it is without experience.
Anything you can do to get some real world experience in the field – even if it’s volunteering for a short time or an internship will be beneficial. Maybe a program through a local votech – in the Birmingham area I noticed Jeff State has a career center that may have internship or entry level programs with local employers.
If you want to get into medical coding, I think the AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) or the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) certification is certainly beneficial – and preferred by most employers.
Thanks for visiting our site,
Gina