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Certification in coding or AA degree in coding?? - confused

Posted: May 11, 2010

Is there really such a thing as an AA degree in coding? Sounds odd to me. Health administration or management, or RHIT I can see, but coding?

Is it not better to just become Certified even if you dont have an AA degree?

The job listings are usually for certification such as CCS or CPC - My Guess

[ In Reply To ..]
Most of the jobs I've seen advertised were looking for certified coders.

Yes, you want to become certified - Redpen

[ In Reply To ..]
Last time I checked, I could find no degree programs specifically in coding. RHIA & RHIT, yes. Coding, though, is usually a certificate program. It doesn't require an entire degree program and many can be completed in a year. Sometimes the length of time depends on whether A&P and med terms (and maybe even something else) are included IN the program or if you have to do them as a prerequisite. If it's a prerequisite, you can add an additional semester, possibly two.

In coding, the goal is certification. It's important. There is a lot of value put on it. In other fields, credentialing may be kind of optional, but in coding it is a very important option.

No matter how you get there, it's the certification that counts. That's what tells an employer that you should be able to do the work. It tells them that you are technically competent (or that you were when you took the exam!).

There is more to it than that, though. It tells them a lot about your personal values, your ability to think ahead, and to delay immediate gratification in order to achieve a long-term, higher goal. It tells them about your motivation and focus, your ability to work independently and professionally, and your ability to set goals and achieve them.

Certification is costly in terms of time, effort, and money. Employers tend to hold certifications themselves, so they know this. You might know that employers tend to hire people that are similar to themselves in terms of values and expectations. So, more than just demonstrating technical ability, the certificate tells them that you are like them in important ways.

Hiring certified individuals is also important for organizations because it supports their need to demonstrate that they are interested in and have taken steps to assure that they perform accurate coding in order to avoid fraud and abuse. This is becoming more important, and along with it the need to hire credentialed individuals becomes more important.

You might not know that many people working in credential-able fields can be indifferent to the need to get credentialed. Once they get a job in the field, they no longer have sufficient motivation to achieve that credential. Or they get an entry-level credential and think that's good enough. They have a job, so they feel they don't need a credential. Or, their fears take over and they avoid it. It isn't important to them for themselves or for their employer.

Sometimes, people fear tests because of a history of poor test-taking. Other times, people just fear the test because of horror stories their coworkers tell them. Or they think they shouldn't even try because someone tells them that passing is impossible without this, that, or the other. Sometimes people avoid getting credentialed because they fear their coworkers won't like it.

All of those things can be valid concerns that need to be overcome in order to get a credential. The credential says something important about you . . . that you overcame something (even if it was just inertia!) to achieve a goal.

Multiple credentials are becoming very common in coding. Why stop at just one? A good thing about continuing on with study and preparation is that it keeps you current with the field -- you have a good reason to keep learning and to keep up. It's also very good to keep your mind active and to keep doors to new and different jobs open.

In my mind, certification isn't something that you start thinking about years down the road. It's something that is best begun right away. Before you learn the first thing about coding, set certification as your goal. For most students, finishing the program (aka "squeaking by somehow")is the goal, but I think that sets people up to achieve less than they could. I think it's better to start working RIGHT NOW toward that goal so that everything you do in your studies is done with the intention to take that exam and pass it.

Don't listen to people who say it's impossible. I don't know why people say that, but I suspect the reasons are all poor. I also think that telling people that it's impossible to pass sets them up for failure.

Why on earth would you need years of experience to pass an exam? What's wrong with learning what you need to know in school? Or getting a book and studying? Hmm? It's not like there is some sort of secret knowledge that you can only gain on the job! I am sure that there is not.

Degree in Coding, please see message - Herzing University

[ In Reply To ..]
I went to AHIMA website to look at what schools they approved. Herzing University On line was approved by AHIMA.
I then went to Herzing On-line to search Medical Coding and this is what they claim:

Associate of Science in Medical Billing and Insurance Coding
This Associate degree program builds upon the core courses of Medical Billing and Insurance Coding Diploma by incorporating the general education requirements required for this level of degree. The Associate is 65 credits and can be completed in 16â��24 months. Careers for graduates of the Associate Degree program are similar to the diploma, however Associate Degree graduates will have greater bargaining potential when seeking employment and promotional opportunities within the Medical Billing and Insurance Coding field.

now I am REALLY confused.

That is totally confusing because Coding and Billing are not the same careers - They require different training

[ In Reply To ..]
Most hospitals will hire someone off the street to do Medical Billing. That's the job where you punch in the information that is already written for you and bill the insurance companies.

Medical Coding can be done at that lighter level, but it isn't really coding, it's just using what they call a Superbill or looking up a few codes in a coding book. That sounds like what they are describing in the paragraph you quoted. That isn't the way I see Medical Coding though, although someone like Redpen may have a different way of looking at it. I don't see that what is described above is the way I would want to learn to be a Medical Coder. If I just wanted a job, fast, that's the kind of job I would look for, but it wouldn't take a degree to accomplish it.

Okay, I read it again and this is "Insurance Coding" or working in the Billing Dept - Not a coding career

[ In Reply To ..]
Now it makes sense. They are two different things.

what are the REAL differences between Coding Career and Insurance coding? - more confused

[ In Reply To ..]
thankyou

Insurance coding - see message - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
This could be a good entry level position for someone to gain coding experience prior to sitting for a certification exam. You may not consider it a "coding career" but it could get you started on your way to better things. Very few people land plum jobs when they are new graduates.

Excellent Point! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

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