Career Opportunities as a Certified Professional Coder with CPC certification

Career Opportunities as a Certified Professional Coder with CPC certification

Introduction

When patients visit the Doctor's office, they generally are required to complete many forms. Patients usually have medical insurance to help pay the bills. Medical coders are employees who translate medical information of patients in specific codes for the insurance company to understand. Medical coders are trained in the use of classification systems software to assign specific codes for each procedure. Medical coders are also known as health information technicians. Professional coders work in medical institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and other facilities such as doctors 'offices. Professional coders are responsible for interpreting the reports and files of the patients' and translating or encoding them into a universally used language by healthcare professionals and insurance companies (Smith, 2010). Furthermore, since the year 2010, medical coders do not have any licensing requirements. The requirements are based on the demand of the employers, ranging from a high school education and the workplace-training for an associate degree and certification.

Discussion

Education

The professional coders need to earn a high school diploma or a GED certificate. Medical coding programs require applicants to have a high school diploma or GED equivalency certificate as a prerequisite for admission. Students must complete courses in algebra, biology, chemistry, physics, health, English, computer and foreign languages. Furthermore, they need to look for a medical education program coding. While some employers offer practical training to candidates with only a high school diploma, most employers prefer applicants with formal training. Medical coding programs are available online, face-to-face or a combination of both. Some programs following a medical coding certificate, students seeking more employment, advancement and income potential can earn an associate degree in medical administration with an emphasis on medical coding.

Students need to complete a medical education coding program. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a typical curriculum will include courses in the requirements and standards for health data, medical terminology, clinical classification and coding systems, methods of reimbursement of health care, anatomy and physiology, data analysis, methods of improving the quality and security and management database. Students can also take courses in health care law, statistics, computer science, introduction to advanced medical coding and medical coding. Programs take between one to two years to complete, depending on the method of teaching (Thomas-Brogan, 2009).

In addition, students need to choose a professional certification body. While medical coders are not required to be licensed, most choose to earn professional certification to reflect a certain level of knowledge and expertise. Medical coders can be certified by the Association for Information Management U.S. health or the American Academy of Professional coders. Both organizations have some education and / or experience, examination fees and applicants must meet to become certified (Diamond, 2011).

Students need to choose a professional certification. Both the AHIMA and AAPC's offer several medical coding references, depending on what field of medicine coding candidates choose to specialize in. Applicants seeking certification by the AHIMA can earn the Certified Coding ...