Choosing your medical coding education is an extremely important decision and can be costly, so you want to be sure whatever course you select will give you the best chance at passing the certification exam of your choice. Having professional knowledge in this area and having gone through some of these courses, we have collected 5 of the best programs that can lead to certification success!
Congratulations!! You have finally made the decision to embark on a career in medical coding. Now what? Obtaining a medical coding certification is a critical step in landing a job as a medical coder. You’ll want to ensure that whatever medical coding education program you choose will give you the BEST chance at being successful at passing the certification exam.
Based on our professional experience and research, below are 5 of the best organizations offering medical coding courses that will greatly increase your chance of passing the medical coder certification exam of your choice.
After learning about these organizations and what they have to offer, you will be better prepared to take your next step toward becoming a certified medical coder.
This post is all about medical coding education organizations and the courses they offer that will boost your chances of successfully passing the medical coding certification exam.
5 of the Best Medical Coding Education Programs
1. Libman Education
Libman Education is highly respected in the medical coding industry and offers over 60 online medical coding training classes. They have courses for beginners and advanced coding professionals who want to further their careers. Regardless of which medical coding certification you choose to pursue, Libman Education has courses that will prepare you.
Just some of the courses included in Libman’s extensive course catalog are as follows:
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- Anatomy & Physiology for Coders
- Inpatient Hospital Coding
- CPT®: Procedural Coding
- E/M Coding for Professional Fee Services
Libman also offers AHIMA (CCS® and CCS-P®)/AAPC (CIRCC®, COC®, CPMA®, CRC®) Coding Examination Preparation Courses and has some super helpful and inexpensive Learning Aids.
They also have the option to get Practical Coding Experience in certain areas after you finish the training. We highly recommend you consider them. Click here to go to their website. They also provide a phone number if you are unsure of which courses are best for you, and we have found their customer service to be highly responsive and helpful!
What We Love Most: Libman’s ICD-10-PCS Training and AHIMA’s CCS® Exam Preparation Courses.
2. HCPro
If you are looking for an accelerated version of medical coding education, HCPro offers medical coding boot camps for both inpatient and outpatient coding. The boot camps are led by expert coding instructors and take place over one week. You have live interaction with your instructor, which is crucial, especially for someone who is just beginning. A word of caution, while these are extremely educational, they are intense, and a full semester of information is covered in just one week. It is recommended that you have some healthcare background and an understanding of medical terminology and human anatomy before attending. Below are just some of their options:
- In-Person Instructor-Led Boot Camps
- Live Virtual Instructor-Led Boot Camps
- Online Boot Camps
If you are not looking for a boot camp, then HCPro has many other coding course offerings as well, which can be found here.
What We Love Most: The Live In-Person Boot Camps!! Extremely educational and offer the opportunity to ask your instructor questions in real-time.
3. Certification Coaching Organization, LLC
CCO offers coding education for new and experienced medical coders. They also have articles, videos, practice questions, and many free tools. It is exciting (and impressive) to see how this organization has grown and expanded over the last several years and made its mark in the medical coding education industry.
Just a few of their offerings include:
- Full Medical Coding Courses for beginners
- “Review Blitzes” to help you prepare for various certification exams
- Coding Certification Practice Exams
- Webinars for Experienced Professionals
- Free Coding Resources
- Exam Tips
What We Love Most:
- The Full Coding Course for CPC® Exam Prep or the CPC® Review Blitz.
- CCO BHAT® (pronounced ‘bat’/stands for “Bubble, Highlight and Annotate Technique“) is a unique, proprietary system, which was created by Laureen Jandroep, the Founder and CEO of CCO. This technique is amazing and will definitely help you quickly find key answers in your coding manuals during the open book CPC® exam. You can only learn it from CCO!
4. AAPC®
If you are planning to take any of the many certification exams offered by the AAPC, then you definitely want to check out AAPC Certification Exam Courses.
Just some of the courses offered include:
- CPC® (Certified Professional Coder) Exam Preparation
- COC® (Certified Outpatient Coder) Exam Preparation
- CIC® (Certified Inpatient Coder Exam Preparation
- CRC® (Certified Risk Adjustment Coder) Exam Preparation
- CPPM® (Certified Physician Practice Manager) Exam Preparation
- CPB® (Certified Professional Biller) Exam Preparation
- CPCO® (Certified Professional Compliance Officer) Exam Preparation
They also have study guides associated with certain certification exams, which are extremely helpful. Let’s face it, AAPC wrote the certification exams and the course material associated with that exam, so you will have a greater chance of passing one of their exams if you use their study guide and/or take one of their courses. According to their website, students have a 30% higher exam pass rate!
With that said, their courses are not inexpensive. An alternative would be to find an AAPC-Certified Instructor, who is also licensed to teach one of the curriculums, which mimics the exam. However, you will want to do your research to ensure the instructor has real-world coding experience and experience teaching, which is a skill set in and of itself.
What We Love Most: AAPC Study Guides. The AAPC Certification Study Guides have proven to be extremely helpful in ensuring you are knowledgeable in the material that will be covered on the certification exam.
5. AHIMA®
AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) is a professional association for individuals working in the field of health information management (HIM).
AHIMA has a plethora of online medical coding courses that can be found here. If you are looking to become a Certified Coding Associate (CCA®) or a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS®), AHIMA has a self-paced online course that includes classes on the following:
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Pathophysiology and Pharmacology
- Medical Terminology
- Reimbursement Methodology
- ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding for Beginners
- CPT Coding for Beginners
What We Love Most: AHIMA authors the CCA®, CCS®, and CCS-P® Certification Examinations; taking an education course through the entity that created the exam has proven to increase your chances of passing the exam.
Conclusion
Choosing the best medical coding education program can be a difficult decision. Some other factors to consider when making this decision include:
- Curriculum: Make sure the program covers the coding systems and guidelines you will need to know for your desired field of work.
- Faculty: Look for programs with experienced and well-qualified instructors who are active in the medical coding and billing field.
- Flexibility: Consider the schedule and format of the program, including whether it is offered online, in person, or a combination of both.
- Reputation: Research the reputation of the school and its program in the industry.
- Support: Check if the program offers career services and resources to help students find employment after graduation.
Ultimately, the best medical coding education program for you will depend on your individual learning style, needs, preferences, and which certification exam you choose to pursue. It is extremely important to research and compare the different options for yourself before making a decision.
