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AAPC - MT to Coding

Posted: Apr 10, 2010

How good are their coding classes? I am looking for a accredited place. Are there any other good places?

AAPC..Good program - MT/biller/coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been a coder/biller for 17 years but never bothered getting my coding certification. Now, I realize how important it is to have in this day and age when competition for jobs is becoming fierce so I am going to do AAPC online classes soon. My friend took it and loved it. She passed and got her certification. When you apply for jobs as a coder, they will want to see that you have your CPC after your name and are not necessarily caring whether it was through an accredited program or not.

Coding school - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not in a program yet but have been considering AAPC as that is the program my employer recognizes for their outpatient coders and like people to get CPC certification after working for 2 years. I also think it depends on whether you want to work for a clinic or hospital, they seem to require different training.

Not necessary to wait 2 years to take - CPC

[ In Reply To ..]
Your employer may like people to get their CPC after working for 2 years, but that does not mean you have to wait 2 years.

You do not need to wait 2 years to take the CPC exam. There is no requirement to do so and no reason for it. If you have been adequately trained, you should be able to pass it right away.

If you're not adequately trained, working for 2 years is likely to make things worse, not better.

It is generally easier to pass it right away. Once you begin working, you become exposed to facility and insurer requirements that may conflict with what is tested on the exam.

I hold review sessions in which we find that we have to review information that coders had time to forget AND we have to "deprogram" coders who are full of errors and conflicting information they have picked up on the job.

The only thing is that, if you pass, AAPC will give you a credential with an "A" for Apprentice. This is not a bad thing and should not be a reason for waiting 2 years. If you have taken a course of a certain length, they will credit one year for it. You can then have the A removed after completing one full year of work in the outpatient coding area.

Be sure you have checked the requirements for yourself. Everything is on the AAPC and AHIMA websites. Do not accept anyone else's opinions about them . . . not even mine. I have seen too many coders never get certified because they believed misinformation that others told them. I have also seen would-be coders who were convinced they needed degrees and lengthy college programs and who were still trying to finish those programs years later, when they could have been working after a year.

Not necessary to wait - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for the information, that was really helpful!

easy to say - sweetpea

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been certified for 2 years and still looking for a coding job.

Know anyone who want a coder or some who wants a coder to work from home

Accredited programs - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Before you decide that accreditation is a mark of a quality coding program, you might want to educate yourself about accreditation, approval, licensure, and about quality content and effective training.

I don't know what you think accreditation means, but if you're looking for an accredited program, you'll be looking a long time, because there aren't any accreditations in coding.

Some commercial career colleges are accredited by an organization that they set up to accredit themselves, since the regular college accreditation programs won't cover them.

Licensure by a state agency can be a good indicator of program quality. Many states require that independent schools undergo a licensure process in order to operate. They review course content, policies, quality of instructors and instruction, and monitor complaints.

I'd also be wary of course recommendations from people who haven't been through them. Same goes for recommendations from people who took them and still can't pass a certification exam.

accredited programs - cj

[ In Reply To ..]
yes, there are accredited programs. check AHIMA website.

coding classes - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Where is the best place to take coding classes? I have looked at Apcc and Penn State.

AHIMA 'approves' coding programs - Does not accredit them

[ In Reply To ..]
There is a difference between accreditation and approval from AHIMA. This difference is important enough that people should not be confused about it.

AHIMA offers accreditation for degree-granting Health Information Technology and Health Information Management programs. Those programs include coding courses, but they are NOT "coding" programs. You do not need to take one of these programs for coding, although some coders HAVE taken them.

AHIMA offers "approval" for coding programs. These programs offer a certificate of completion in coding only.

A number of AHIMA-accredited HIT programs also have coding certificate programs, but never got the coding certificate program approved. Those coding programs are neither accredited nor approved by AHIMA. They're not anything, and that doesn't mean they're bad.

A lot of coders feel that the way they were trained is the only way. An AHIMA-trained person might feel that only AHIMA programs are acceptable. They might feel that everyone needs to do it the same way. They might even believe that it's impossible to find a job otherwise. However, there are coders who are RHIAs and RHITs, and coders who completed AHIMA-approved coding programs, and coders who completed AAPC courses, and coders who took other coding courses, and coders who only took a boot-camp, and coders who were trained on the job, and coders who are totally self-taught.

I'm a self-taught coder, and I passed both AHIMA and AAPC certification exams. I later took an AAPC course, and I later completed an RHIA. I'm confident that I'm relaying the requirements correctlfy because I'm very nearly quoting straight from the AHIMA website.

I also work with hundreds of successful coders who have all sorts of credentials and who have no difficulty getting jobs regardless of what their educational background may be. I'm confident that I'm sure what the requirements are.

Yes, everyone should look at the requirements and explanations on the AAPC and AHIMA websites. If you read them accurately and completely, you will see that what I posted here is correct.

AHIMA accredits HIT and HIM programs, but approves coding programs. And those are not the only ways to become a coder.

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