Are There Accredited Medical Coding Schools that Specialize in Medical Coding Specifically?
Health Information Management (HIM) associate and bachelor’s degrees are offered at over 200 accredited colleges and universities nationwide. Medical coding is usually a subset of most HIM curriculum. If you’re an aspiring medical coding professional that doesn’t want to take the extra coursework and time investment required for a typical HIM degree, there are accredited medical coding schools that offer certification rather than associate or bachelor’s degrees. Or if you’re already a medical coding professional, there are accredited medical coding schools that offer advanced medical specialty certification, as well as re-certification and continuing education programs required for coders to keep their credentials.
Medical coding certificates are offered at medical coding schools accredited through coding credential certification organizations like the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Other medical coding credential organizations like the Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) and the Professional Association of Health care Coding Specialists (PAHCS) offer study guides, webinars and medical coding credential exams, but do not offer a medical coding curriculum or recommend a list of accredited medical coding schools.
Coding credential certification organizations like AHIMA and AAPC have a specific accrediting process where schools with a specialized coding curriculum are peer reviewed against a set of standards for comprehensive medical coding training.
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Schools
The Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) is the accreditation body for the more than 200 schools offering AHIMA-administered written medical coding certification degree exams. At AHIMA’s website, they offer the AHIMA Approved Coding Certificate Program Directory, a database of accredited medical coding schools where you can search for schools by state location or by whether classes are given online.
AHIMA accredited medical coding certification curriculum are taught at schools that include Loma Linda University (California), Miami Dade College, Santa Fe Community College (New Mexico), Tulsa Community College, and Santa Barbara City College.
Types of AHIMA-accredited medical coding certificate programs include:
- A Certified Coding Associate (CCA) certificate program indicates that recipients are competent in any health care setting including hospitals and physician practices.
- Recipients of Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) certificates typically work in a hospital setting only. The certificate program indicates medical coding mastery in specialty medical areas.
- Recipients of Certified Coding Specialist – Physician-based (CCS-P) certificate work primarily in a physician office setting. This certificate program also indicates medical coding mastery in specialty medical areas.
American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) Schools
The American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) was founded in 1988 to provide professional certification to physician-based medical coders. There are 64,000 certified AAPC members. AAPC-accredited medical coding programs are offered online or in a classroom setting.
Types of AAPC accredited medical coding certificate programs include:
- Recipients of Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certificates typically code services, procedures and diagnoses in a physician office setting.
- Certified Professional Coder -Hospital Outpatient (CPC-H) certificate recipients typically work in a hospital or clinical outpatient setting.
- Certified Professional Coder -Payer (CPC-P) is an advanced certification geared to professionals with at least two years of medical coding experience.
- AAPC also offers coding certification in 20 specific medical specialty areas that include Anesthesia and Pain Management (CANPC), Cardiology (CCC), Emergency Department (CEDC), Gastroenterology (CGIC), General Surgery (CGSC) and Obstetrics Gynecology (COBGC).
- AAPC’s website has a list of approved Continuing Education Units (CEU) vendors offering refresher webinars, workshops, and other types of post-certification classes needed by medical coding professionals to show that they are staying current on coding information. For example, if you hold one medical coding certification, you’re required to have 36 Continuing Education Units every two years.
About our expert. Jan Jacobs has worked in medical offices since the early 1980's. Ms. Jacobs has worked for M.D.'s and D.O.'s in primary care and specialty care. She is employed as a senior medical biller and has been at her current job for nearly 10 years, where she uses three different billing systems.
