A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Why does certification cost so much? - MamaBear

Posted: Aug 23, 2010

I'm eligible to sit for the CMT and the RHIT and both exams are over $200 to take. It feels like I'm buying credentials! Why are these certification exams so much money to take and keep up! It's ridiculous! What do you pay for?

You got it: BUYING credentials! - Searching

[ In Reply To ..]
It has ALWAYS been expensive to earn and maintain CMT status, considering what we make. The stupid membership dues were always too high as well. It's just a racket. Been there, done that, and now I say save your money to spend on something of VALUE.

"What do you pay for?" - NOTHING

[ In Reply To ..]
Save your money.

They just give you harder work - Spherite

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That's the only difference I've ever seen. They will put you on a harder account and pay maybe an extra half cent per line. It's not worth it. You make more at lesser cpl with the better work.

RHIT is a useful title. CMT is NOT - Spend your money wisely.

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are an RHIT, you don't need to be a CMT. RHIT trumps CMT.

RHIT and CMT apply to 2 different things - Aspiring coder

[ In Reply To ..]
One is for health information technology (medical records/coding) and the other is for MT, one does not trump the other. I don't know why the exams are so expensive, the national coding certification exams are around $300 per exam, I guess it's the cost of the testing materials (there's probably a licensing fee), renting the testing center and hiring proctors but I really don't know for sure.

What is RHIT, and how do you get it? - how does it trump CMT?

[ In Reply To ..]
Do you get a raise to have it? Are there CECs needed?

I am so confused. So if my company demands mandatory CMT, I could get RHIT instead and not give my money to AHDI.

One is a license and one is a useless certificate. - RHIT requires college...CMT

[ In Reply To ..]
is just a way for AHDI to get rich off of us. Most practices today don't even know what CMT means.

If your company is one of the ones who bought into the AHDI myth, they may insist that you have CMT credentials as a job qualification. Not that it proves a thing! But some places were sold a bill of goods by AHDI.

Not true. They are both certifications - RHIT

[ In Reply To ..]
http://www.ahima.org/certification/rhit.aspx

And while one does not trump the other, RHIT would open more doors INCLUDING the possibility of MT doors.

ADHI - jeannieb

[ In Reply To ..]
If ADHI isn't a good organization to set up standards for MTs, what other organization is set up to do that? I was a paralegal & I soon found out that "no standards means low pay!" If we are willing to self-regulate and set up high standards, eventually not every Tom, Dick, & Harry will qualify to do our jobs.

Better standards (and advocacy for MTs) was what - AHDI preaches, but it sure aint the gospel! (SM)

[ In Reply To ..]
Standards have DROPPED. Look at the trash that is coming out of VR and offshored work. Look at the nitpicky BOS rules that have QA-people scrambling to keep up with, and ignoring the bottom line: A correct, legible medicolegal document. PAY has dropped. How does that equate to "MT advocacy"? And how does low pay in any way improve quality of transcription? It does NOT.

The "standard" used to be, either you could do the work, or you could not. Now, the only "standard" in medical transcription is "Show me the money."

RHIT - Aspiring coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I tried to explain it in my previous post, but here I go again. RHIT is a Registered Health Information Technician. You will usually find someone with that title managing a medical records department or working as a coder, I think it requires completing a 2-year college program, they rarely work as MTs. Those credentials are completely different from a CMT as they are 2 completely different jobs, it's like comparing apples and oranges.

RHIT - MamaBear

[ In Reply To ..]
I am an MT/QA and have a 2-year degree in health information technology and am eligible to sit for the RHIT, which is why I asked. I'd like to get both credentials but it sounds like getting a CMT would be a waste of time.

Mama Bear - Aspiring coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I would definitely sit for the RHIT, I'd say the CMT is your call. If you would be doing it in order to earn more, that probably is not going to happen. If you don't have coding background, that would also be a good thing to know, IMHO, but you may have already studied that.

RHIT - MamaBear

[ In Reply To ..]
I am going to study hard and sit for the RHIT and skip the CMT, I think!

Its expensive so AHDI can pad its bank acount at - the expense of desperate MTs. N/M

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Any organization's credentialing - exam costs money

[ In Reply To ..]
Nursing credentialing exam costs $270. Any exam costs money.

But at least other exams give you a legitimate certificate. - CMT is just a "certificate of - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
being able to memorize a bunch of meaningless rules they made up".

The other certifictes/licenses mean you can work in a career that pays a decent living. Raises are not unheard of, as they are in MT. The CMT doesn't gain the holder entrance to anything more than a SWEATSHOP.

credentialing - deb142

[ In Reply To ..]
How much does the CMT exam cost to take? And what happens if you don't make it the first time? Any chance of refund or to take it again?

You pay all over again to retake it. How do you - spell: "R-I-P-O-F-F?" NM

[ In Reply To ..]
X

CMT - MamaBear

[ In Reply To ..]
The CMT exam is $200+ dollars to take and if you don't make it, you don't get a refund, don't get your money back. You can take it again if you pay another $200+ dollars. Harsh. At least that's what I heard.

I heard that, too. Except I heard it was $300. - R-I-P-O-F-F !!!

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

Why does cert cost so much??????? - 27-year-MT

[ In Reply To ..]
It costs so much because the used-to-be AMA is now run by owners who need money to buy political power. I wanted a union for MTs years ago but everyone said OH NO I HATE UNIONS. Well, this is what you get without an organization to protect your rights as an MT and a human being. You are paying for the very companies that lie in their ads, lie to you about your lines and money, just lie to you because they can. I cannot believe there are still MTs out there who don't want a union for MTs. How long do you think this country would last if every single MT in AMERICA stopped working all at the same time, MTSO, hospitals, clinics, offices, whatever. Do you HONESTLY think this nation could REALLY replace us with this SR/VR software. I'm doing SR now and the software cannot handle most of these dictators. So, who is going to clean up the softwares mess? US, WITHOUT DECENT PAY OR BENEFITS. What is wrong with the MTs today? I just don't understand it.

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