Learn what Medical Coding Certifications are available and who administers the Medical Coding Certificate. All the different types of medical coder certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coding Credentials<\/strong> Credentials for a medical billing coder are administered by two different organizations – AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) and AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association). Employers seem to have differing preferences when hiring. If you are considering becoming credentialed talk with an experienced medical billing coder field and get their opinion. Look at job listings in your area and see what credential are required. Here’s a summary of their certifications: AAPC credentials are for medical coders working in physician offices, outpatient facilities, surgical centers, and for insurance payers. Being credentialed by AAPC requires members to agree to a Code of Ethics to uphold high standards of integrity, ethical behavior, and professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AAPC has the following exam based certification offerings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more info on AAPC certification, check out American Academy of Professional Coders<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AHIMA Certifications<\/strong> The AHIMA offers three exam based medical coding certifications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more info on AHIMA certifications, check out American Health Information Management Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advantages of Medical Coding Certifications<\/strong> Before pursuing the certified medical coder credential from AAPC or AHIMA, consider your career path and the credentials your preferred employer requires. If the type of setting or employer requires CCS credentials, then your goal would be to pass the AHIMA certification exam. If they require CPC credentials, then AAPC is the credentialing and exam authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Public Health Online’s Guide to Online Health Administration Degrees<\/a> provides a helpful guide to getting started in Health Administration. Their site is a great resource for program information and case studies that helps students evaluate pathways into the profession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Explanation of AAPC & AHIMA Medical Coding Certificate Offerings Learn what Medical Coding Certifications are available and who administers the Medical Coding Certificate. All the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3205"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3208,"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3205\/revisions\/3208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.all-things-medical-billing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Membership for coders in a professional organization provides opportunities for professional development and a way to keep abreast of coding industry issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AAPC Certifications<\/strong>
AAPC is a national group dedicated to advancing the medical coding profession and currently has over 106,000 members with over 64,000 certified. AAPC was founded in 1988 to raise medical coding standards through training, certification, continuing education, networking, and job opportunities.AAPC provides education and professional certification for physician-based coders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AHIMA is dedicated to the effective management of personal health information required to administer healthcare to the public with over 61,000 members. AHIMA was founded in 1928 with the goal of improving the quality of medical records. The organization is committed to advancing the health information management profession by advocacy, certification, and education, The majority of coding students who pursue AHIMA medical coding certifications sit for the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maintaining certification requires continued membership in the association and meeting annual continuing education requirements. Obtaining credentials demonstrates a level of commitment to the profession, ethics, integrity, and a knowledge and competence in a particular area of coding. This is desirable of many employers – especially larger ones. Certified coding professionals typically earn more than non-certified coders – according to AAPC this can be up to 20% more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n