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Medical coding certification is necessary for anyone who intends to pursue a career in this line. It gives an advantage over non-certified candidates in a competitive job market and makes it easier to pursue further studies or advancement into managerial roles. 

The well known standard in medical coding certification is the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Found in 1988 the AAPC has around 64,000 certified professionals as its member. The AAPC certification is recognized almost all over as a standard for excellence in medical coding. The AAPC offer various levels of Medical coding certification as per experience and role.  

• Certified Professional Coder (CPC) - The CPC is a credential that validates the professional’s ability to assign codes based the knowledge of national coding guidelines, medical terminology and human anatomy. This medical coding certification tests the examinee on command over CPT®, HCPCS Level II, Supply codes and ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes.

 

• Certified Professional Coder-Hospital (CPC-H) - This medical coding certification is sponsored by the American Academy of Professional Coders. The CPC validates the professional’s ability in coding outpatient facility/hospital services. The examination tests the candidate on the same subjects as the CPC. To be eligible for CPC-H, the candidate must have at least two years of coding experience and maintain yearly renewal and CEU requirements.

 

• Certified Professional Coder-Payer (CPC-P) - This medical coding certification validates the candidate’s knowledge and skills to judge the validity of provider claims effectively. The CPC-P exam tests the candidates command over medical coding in a payer environment. To be eligible for CPC-P the candidate must have at least 2 years of experience working with CPT®, ICD-9-CM, or HCPCS code sets and maintain the required amount of yearly CEUs.

Medical coding certification is also provided by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

• Certified Coding Associate (CCA) – This is a Medical coding certification to beginners to set them apart from non certified professionals.

 

• Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) - This medical coding certification is designed for professionals who assign numeric codes to patients' records for diagnosis and procedures. The certification validates command over the ICD-9-CM coding system and the surgery section of the CPT coding system.

 

• Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-based (CCS-P) - This medical coding certification validates the practitioners command over coding in physician-based settings. The certification tests the candidate on knowledge of the CPT coding system, ICD-9-CM and HCPCS Level II coding systems, health information documentation, data integrity and quality.

 

Depending on career goals and roles, a practitioner can pick any of these certifications.