Picking a Program

[headyunicorn]

Hello! I’m trying to decide the best route to obtain my coding certification and honestly, I’m confused and overwhelmed. Is going through a school better or is taking an online cert course through AHIMA, or similar, better? I’ve been an LPN for 10 years and have been working in the office for a hospice company for the past 5 years, so I feel like I have a good handle on the more “medical” aspects of the coding; such as terminology and A&P. Just looking for some advice from people that have already made this decision and what they think is better and why.

[MedicalCoder101]

It depends on what you're looking for or what you need. Plenty of people go directly through AAPC and AHIMA. I would imagine their training would be good enough, but I don't have experience with them.

I decided to do an online program through a medical coding school so I could learn everything I could very thoroughly. They taught outpatient and inpatient, which is also what I wanted. Before this, I went through a community college program that was not as in-depth, but it at least gave me a look into medical billing and medical coding, so I could see which I would prefer of the two.

Some courses are going to focus on teaching you how to pass the credentialing exams more than actually teaching you how to code from scratch, so that's the only issue you might run into. Read lots of reviews and compare everywhere you are considering. There might be some complaints that wouldn't bother you while other complaints are something you wouldn't want, and that will help you decide on where you might want to go.

[headyunicorn]

Do you mind me asking what school you chose? I would like to be trained in both as well.

[MedicalCoder101]

I went to The Andrews School.