The Top Medical Billing & Coding Schools

Editors Top Pick

Medical Billing and Coding Training

You probably hear a lot about the types of training you will need to become a medical biller and coder. However, you might not hear much about exactly what this training entails. This would be an oversight for any medical billing and coding resource. After all, what good is knowing which courses you’ll take to enter the career without some understanding of the knowledge you’ll gain in these courses. But first, is it worth it to enter the medical billing and coding field? Can you expect to find a job quickly and in an area where you live? If so, what can you expect to learn during your training to become a medical biller and coder?

The healthcare industry is in dire need of trained medical billers and coders, with projections indicating that employment among medical records and health information technicians will increase by 20% over the next decade. If you want to be a part of this growing industry, it’s important to seek the proper training.

Medical Billing and Coding Training can come in the form of an online or offline degree program, an online or offline training program from a medical billing and coding professional association, evening classes led by a certified medical billing and coding instructor – whatever it takes to get you the knowledge you need to pass a medical billing and coding certification exam. Although certification is not necessary for entry-level employment, attaching a credential to your title will impress employers and unlock higher salaries and more challenging work responsibilities. Proper training is the path to certification.

Medical Billing and Coding Training From the AAPC

One of the best ways to obtain medical billing and coding training is by working directly with the AAPC, or the American Association of Professional Coders. This is the same organization that administers certification exams granting credentials such as CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CIRCC and twenty specialty credentials, so it stands to reason that their training programs will comprehensively prepare you to pass the examinations. AAPC training is divided into two primary categories: Medical Coding Training and Medical Billing Training.

Fast Fact: What is the AAPC?

The American Association of Professional Coders was originally founded in 1988 as an educational center for professional coders. Today, this organization boasts a membership roster of more than 100,000 around the world, with 64,000 as certified professionals. The AAPC is one of the leading medical billing and coding certification granting entities in the world. Finally, the AAPC also offers medical billers and coders continuing education opportunities with local chapters, the Coding Edge magazine, workshops, and conferences.

AAPC Medical Coding Training

The AAPC’s Medical Coding Training course is available in two forms: online and through physical classroom courses. This program is designed to train you in the HCPCS Level II, ICD-9-CM and CPT code sets, as well as how to apply those codes in order to accurately seek reimbursement for medical procedures and diagnoses. By enrolling in this training program, you’ll enjoy small class sizes and personalized coaching from certified coding professionals. You’ll also receive discounts on AAPC membership and other fees for both the CPC (physician office coder) and CPC-H (outpatient hospital coder) certification exams.

Medical Coding Training is available online in several configurations:

CPC Complete Training Package: CPC course, CPC exam and three practice exams
CPC Course and Exam
CPC-H Complete Training Package: CPC-H course, CPC-H exam, study guide and three practice exams
CPC-H Course and Exam
Medical Terminology and Anatomy Course: A supplemental training course designed for students with limited knowledge of anatomy and medical terminology

You can also choose to take the following courses individually instead of as a package:

CPC Preparation Course

Students must complete 80 clock hours of training, at their leisure, within a 4-month period. The CPC Preparation Course covers the CPT, HCPCS Level II and ICD-9-CM coding manuals and provides an introduction to the new ICD-10-CM code set. It provides an overview of topics including compliance, reimbursement, documentation, Evaluation and Management, various bodily systems (cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, etc.) and medicine. It concludes with a final exam, and includes 12 hours of recorded audio lectures designed to enhance your learning experience.

CPC-H Preparation Course

This course also consists of 80 clock hours of training to be completed in 4 months. While the CPC Preparation Course is designed to train medical coders for work in a physician’s office, this course is better suited to an outpatient hospital setting. It covers topics including the various bodily systems, CPT, HCPCS Level II and ICD-9-CM code sets, anatomy, medical terminology, facility billing, Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), revenue codes, documentation standards and more.

AAPC Medical Billing Training

In addition to their medical coding training courses, the AAPC offers a single standalone course with an emphasis on medical billing:

Medical Billing and Reimbursement Course

This course imposes the same basic time requirements as the CPC and CPC-H Preparation courses. It provides the latest information regarding third-party and Medicare billing, and focuses on various reimbursement methodologies used within the health insurance industry. Covered topics include the three major code sets, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement methodologies, commercial insurance, legal and regulatory issues, processing insurance claims, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans and more.

Other Standalone Medical Billing and Coding Training Courses from AAPC

The AAPC offers two other online standalone medical coding training courses: Anatomy and Medical Terminology. Each of these courses require 40 clock hours of independent study, intended for completion within a 2-month period. Both courses are recommended prerequisites for the three major Medical Coding Training courses. Each course is available to AAPC members for $395. You can purchase both courses as a bundle for $695. Both are worth 20 Continuing Education Units, which you’ll need to accumulate in order to maintain your AAPC certifications.

Anatomy

The AAPC’s Anatomy course teaches how the human body and all of its complex systems operate each day. Following completion of the training program, students will be able to define the physiology and anatomy of bodily systems and understand the tissue and cellular levels of the body. Some of the covered topics include:

Nervous system
Respiratory system
Digestive system
Urinary system
Reproductive system
Nervous system
Human development
Water, blood and balance
Blood vessels
The heart

Medical Terminology

The AAPC’s Medical Terminology course serves as an introduction to how medical terminology is used in reimbursement and medical coding. Following completion of the course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the proper use of medical terminology from the perspective of a medical biller and coder. Some of the topics include:

Understanding disease terms used in diagnostic coding manuals
How human anatomy relates to procedural coding
Identifying anatomic positions of major organ systems by using anatomic reference systems and physiology/anatomy definitions
Identifying the roles of the four different types of word parts used to form medical terms
Using knowledge of individual word parts to identify unfamiliar medical terminology

Important Courses in Medical Billing and Training Programs

As you compare different medical billing and training programs, it’s important to examine the coursework included in each. Each course should provide you with some of the knowledge you’ll need to pass certification exams from the AAPC and AHIMA. If you choose a program that’s too narrow in scope, you could finish your medical billing and coding training without the skills necessary to pass these exams. If you choose a program that’s too broad, you could end up wasting precious time and money. The following is a list of core subjects that all good medical billing and coding training programs cover, whether it’s a land-based degree program, an online certification training course or somewhere in between:

Introduction to Medical Billing and Coding / Office Procedures

Explanation of medical billing
Explanation of medical coding
Basic medical office procedures
Processing paper and electronic claims
Processing payments
Creating and editing reports
Seeking reimbursement from payers, including patients and insurance companies.

Medical Office Documentation

Essential medical office forms
Completing patient demographic forms
Reading and processing insurance cards
Verification procedures for insurance forms
Reading and completing daysheets and superbills
Completing CMS 1500 forms
Completing ADA and UB92 forms
Avoiding common documentation errors

Medical Coding

Basic code definitions
Properly using CPT codes
Reading and using the CPT manual
Properly using ICD-9-CM codes
Reading and using the ICD-9-CM manual

Medical Billing and Reimbursement

Collecting claims data
Entering claims information data
The process of submitting claims, including electronic claims, paper claims, secondary claims and claims attachments
Posting payments, including deductibles, partial payments and full payments

Medical Coding and Billing Software

Entering clinical data, physician data and patient data from daysheets and superbills (including diagnosis, procedure, insurance and demographics information)
Using software to generate claims and reports

The Top Medical Billing & Coding Schools

Ultimate Medical Academy

Kaplan University