Finding the Right Coder Certification
If you are an aspiring medical coding professional, there are many different medical coder certifications to choose from. The dilemma is deciding which type of coding certificate is better for you. In a tight job market, the better medical coder certification may be the one that is most likely to get you hired. If you are already working as a medical coder, a more specialized coder certificate may put you on a path toward advancement in your career and a higher salary.
Know, however, that a tight job market may not affect certain parts of the medical coder profession. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects employment of health information technicians, including medical coders, to increase by 20 percent through 2018. This is an employment rate that is rising much faster than the average rate for all other occupations.
The medical coder profession is growing because of an aging American population. This changing demographic will result in a growing need for medical testing, treatments and procedures due to the increased occurrence of health-related problems. Another factor for more opportunities in the medical coder profession is the increased use of electronic health records (EHR), which will require more coders and technicians educated in electronic data management skills.
Higher levels of certification are typically earned through a combination of experience on the job and/or additional formal education as required by accredited certifying organizations such as:
- The American Health Information Association (AHIMA)
- American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
- The Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC)
- The Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists (PAHC)
- The National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA)
AHIMA Medical Coder Certification
The American Health Information Association (AHIMA) is a professional association with over 60,000 Health Information Management (HIM) professional members. They have been certifying HIM professionals and establishing industry standards since 1932. Medical coding is an integral part of the skill set in the HIM profession. Types of medical coder certification offered by AHIMA, each with their own unique benefits, include:
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA) is the only Health Information Management (HIM) credential that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). This could be a valuable factor on your resume for a potential employer. CCA certification particularly indicates coding competency in any health care work setting including hospitals and physician practices.
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) medical coder certification indicates a master level in medical coding systems that include International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). Coders with CCS certification primarily work in hospital environments. They assign numeric codes for each patient diagnosis and procedure, which are used by hospitals and other health care providers to bill insurance companies or government health care programs like Medicare for reimbursement of expenses. A CCS certificate also indicates a higher level of coding accuracy, which is of high importance in protecting a health care facility’s revenue bottom line as well as protecting patients through more accurate reporting of medical outcomes.
- Certified Coding Specialist – Physician-based (CCS-P) medical coders work primarily in physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics and medical specialty centers. CCS-P certification, like CCS certification, indicates a master level in medical coding systems. CCS-P coding languages include CPT; International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM); and Healthcare Coding Procedure Coding System Level II (HCPCS Level II). CCS-P medical coder certification also indicates an expertise in physician office management skills, particularly handling billing reimbursements from insurance companies and government programs like Medicare. It also indicates to a potential employer that you have had at least three years of on-the-job experience in addition to the certificate.
Note that CCA, CCS and CCS-P medical coding certification candidates are only required to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
AAPC Medical Coder Certification
The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) has certified 70,000 health care professionals in health information management areas that include medical coding. AAPC-accredited medical coding certifications include:
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC) medical coders work primarily in a physician’s office setting. This medical coder certification indicates a sound knowledge of procedure and supply coding languages like CPT and HCPCS Level II, as well as ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes. Both are used for billing insurance companies and government health care programs like Medicare.
- Certified Professional Coder – Hospital Outpatient (CPC-H) coders primarily work in a hospital or clinical outpatient setting.
- Certified Professional Coder – Payer (CPC-P) is a high demand specialty medical coder certification. CPC-P certification indicates an expertise in reimbursement methodologies in a wide range of medical services settings. This certification also serves to upgrade the coding skill set of working health care professionals including insurance claims reviewers, auditors and benefit administrators, billing services providers, health care facility managers and customer service workers. Reimbursement methodologies apply to physician reimbursements, inpatient and outpatient payment systems, health insurance concepts and HIPAA compliance rules and regulations.
- Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder (CIRCC) is an AAPC medical coder certification developed by interventional radiology physicians, technicians, coders and billers. AAPC’s 2010 Medical Coding Salary Survey places CIRCC as a “top earning” medical coder specialty certification.
AAPC also offers twenty specialty medical coder certifications that include Certified Emergency Department Coder (CEDC); Certified Ambulatory Surgical Center Coder (CASCC); Certified Family Practice Coder (CFPC); Certified Cardiology Coder (CCC); Certified General Surgery Coder (CGSC); Certified Hematology and Oncology Coder (CHONC); and Certified Obstetrics Gynecology Coder (COBGC). These are coder upgrade certifications for working health care professionals in medical specialty areas. Examples include:
- Certified Emergency Department Coder (CEDC) is one of the highest paid AAPC certifications because it relies on the highest standards of coding and on-the-spot operative and patient note-taking accuracy.
- Certified Hematology and Oncology Coder (CHONC) not only requires medical coding skills, it also requires prior experience and expertise in hematology and oncology surgical procedures coding, as well as a specific understanding of Medicare billing.
PAHC Medical Coder Certification
The Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists (PAHC) requires prior certification in another medical coding specialty or a minimum of two years of coding experience. PAHC offers medical coder certification covering many of the same medical specialty areas as AAPC. It also offers the Certified Multi-Specialty Coding Specialist (CMSCS) certification that covers a minimum of three medical specialty areas.
BMSC Medical Coder Certification
The Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) offers specialty medical coder certifications that include:
- Specialty Coding Professional (SCP) is a general coding and billing certification that requires at least two years of prior coding experience. SCP certification indicates “good knowledge” of coding languages within your chosen medical specialty such as CPT, ICD-9 and HCPCS.
- Advanced Coding Specialist (ACS) is a medical coder certification aimed at coders with 3-5 years of experience working in physician specialty areas such as anesthesia, cardiology, emergency medicine, general surgery and radiology. ACS certification also indicates a mastery of your chosen medical specialty’s regulations.
- Home Care Coding Specialist – Diagnosis (HCS-D) is a medical coder certification aimed at coders that offer their coding services in patient homes and home health agencies. BMSC offers the only medical coder certification for home health care professionals. It requires two or more years of medical coding experience and an understanding of Outcome and Assessment Information Set OASIS, a system for Medicare billing and reimbursement.
NCRA Medical Coder Certification
The National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) offers its Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) medical coder certification. Coding study areas required for this certification include Cancer Disease Coding and Staging and Oncological Treatment and Coding. The aging American population brings with it more cancer diagnoses and a growing need for CTR professionals. Higher demands for CTR medical coders will result in higher salaries offered in the job market.
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.
