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


General question about fees for coding - Considering coding


Posted: Aug 27, 2010

I'm an MT debating on taking classes to become certified for coding.

I was curious as to what supplies you are furnished with and is it everything necessary to complete your studies and receive your certification, or do you also find you must purchase a lot of extraneous supplies?

With budgeting on a shoestring, I'll be lucky to afford the classes and am hoping the fees are all-inclusive rather than having a lot of unbudgeted "surprises" once I (hopefully) get rolling. 

TIA to anyone who cares to share!!!

General coding questions - Fellow student

[ In Reply To ..]
There is no simple answer in regard to what supplies you are furnished with. Some schools furnish some or all of the books and the E-learning materials, some of the programs and schools require you to purchase all the books. Some require you to complete prerequisite classes (anatomy and physiology), some include them in the program. You will have to research that for yourself and choose what works best for you. As far as certification, that will come after you complete your program. There are 2 organizations who offer different levels of certification, there is a fee to take those exams.

Coding Fees - DoritoCoder

[ In Reply To ..]
I just received my certification in coding from AHIMA - CCS-P. I had to have 3 coding books (CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-9) and they allowed a medical dictionary. The books required for the test are on the EXAM PREP portion of the AHIMA Certification site.

They have other coding resources and they may be helpful to have, but if you know coding, you only need the 3 codebooks. No foot pedal. No headset. No special software for your computer. No counting software.

I have done billing and coding for just over 7.5 years and I enjoyed it very much! Unemployed and looking for work now.

Best wishes!

Everything included with Andrews - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Andrews includes everything required, from A&P to textbooks, code books, and individualized instructor support.

No supplemental materials are required or recommended by them, neither is a printer, and you can do the course with minimal internet access and email.

You'll need to provide your own office supplies, but that's about it.


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