Due to the amount of regulation and scrutiny given to medical coding activities the need for Medical Coding Certification is greater for individuals embarking on a medical coding career compared with many other career fields. An entry level or advanced medical coding certification is typically considered a prerequisite for entry into the medical coding profession.
There are two national organizations that certify medical coders:
1. AHIMA – American Health Information Management Association
2. AAPC – American Association of Professional Coders
Both of these organizations provide a variety of entry level and advanced medical coding certification options. While an entry level medical coding certification will get you started in a medical coding career, in order for a medical coder to advance in the career field, it is usually necessary to gain advanced medical coding certification status. The medical coding certifications offered by both of these organizations are widely recognized and respected in the medical coding industry. At this point, most medical coding work is still performed by medical coders working in hospitals or clinics. Medical coders work in a professional environment and perform a vital behind the scenes billing support activity.
There is a trend toward outsourcing of medical coding work to third party vendors. As this trend catches on, more medical coding work will be done in homes and it will evolve to become more of a home based career – much like medical transcription is today. It is believed that as technology continues to evolve and remote platforms are developed, the outsourcing model will begin to take hold in the industry. However, at this point it is important to point out that most medical coding and billing is still performed in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities.
