ndividuals who earn the CHPS designation will achieve recognition of their expertise in designing, implementing, and administering privacy and security protection programs in all types of healthcare organizations. Holders demonstrate advanced knowledge of the privacy and security dimensions of HIM to include best management practices.
Individuals who earn the CHDA designation will achieve recognition of their expertise in health data analysis and validation of their mastery of this domain. This certification provides practitioners with the knowledge to acquire, manage, analyze, interpret, and transform data into accurate, consistent, and timely information, while balancing the \”big picture\” strategic vision with day-to-day details.
CHDA-credentialed professionals exhibit broad organizational knowledge and the ability to communicate with individuals and groups at multiple levels, both internal and external.
Organizations value clinical documentation integrity (CDI) competencies in health information professionals, nurses, and physicians. Individuals earning the CDIP credential demonstrate expertise in clinical documentation within patient health records. Both employers and colleagues view CDIP holders as role models within the broader health information community.
RHIAs are a critical link between care providers, payers, and patients. The RHIA has a comprehensive knowledge of medical, administrative, ethical, and legal requirements and standards related to healthcare delivery and privacy of protected patient information.
RHIAs work in multiple settings in the healthcare industry, including hospitals, multispecialty clinics and physician practices, long-term care, mental health, and other ambulatory care settings. They can also work in non-patient care settings such as managed care and insurance companies, software vendors, consulting services, government agencies, education, and pharmaceutical companies.
RHIAs:
While most RHITs work in hospitals, they are also found in other healthcare settings including office-based physician practices, nursing homes, home health agencies, mental health facilities, and public health agencies. RHITs may also be employed in any organization that uses patient data or health information, such as pharmaceutical companies, law and insurance firms, and health product vendors.
RHITs:
Coding professionals who hold the CCA credential have demonstrated coding competency across all settings, including hospitals and physician practices.
Since 2002, the CCA designation has been a nationally recognized standard of achievement in the health information management (HIM) field.
CCAs:
Experienced cardiovascular and thoracic surgery coders are encouraged to sit for the CCVTC™ exam. CCVTC certification represents excellence in reporting surgical procedures performed by cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons, such as cardiopulmonary bypass, PTCA, lung tumor ablation, etc.
The Certified Surgical Foot & Ankle Coder (CSFACâ„¢) credential was developed by AAPC in cooperation with the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) to provide a means for professional coders, podiatrists, orthopedists, and billing staff to demonstrate their expertise in coding medical services and surgical procedures performed on the foot and ankle.
Experienced ambulatory surgery center (ASC) coders are encouraged to sit for the CASCC™ exam. CASCC certification endorses superior competency in coding for services and procedures performed in an ASC. This competency includes the ability to navigate operative reports and to apply ASC rules for reimbursement, such as multiple, device-intensive and discontinued procedures.
Experienced gastroenterology coders are encouraged to sit for the CGIC™ exam. CGIC certification CGIC certification shows expert aptitude for coding procedures performed by gastroenterologists, such as colonoscopies, esophageal dilations, ERCP, etc.
The Certified Rheumatology Coder (CRHC™) exam was developed by a team of leading rheumatology coding professionals in conjunction with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Experienced rheumatology coders are encouraged to sit for the CHRC exam. CRHC certification validates coding proficiency in the medical field of rheumatology, including surgical procedures like trigger point injections, joint injections, synovial fluid analysis, viscosupplementation, etc.
The Certified ENT Coder exam was developed by a team of leading ENT coders in conjunction with the American Academy Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the Association of Otolaryngology Administrators (AOA).
Coders with CENTC credential demonstrates sufficient experience & expertise in ENT coding.
Experienced hematology and oncology coders are encouraged to sit for the CHONC™ exam. CHONC certification validates expertise in coding of surgical procedures performed by hematologists and oncologists and auxiliary staff — including chemotherapy administration, hydration services, therapeutic, prophylactic and diagnostic administration, bone marrow aspiration, bone marrow biopsies, venipuncture, vaccinations, therapeutic phlebotomy, etc.
Experienced pediatric coders are encouraged to sit for the CPEDC™ exam. CPEDC certification validates aptitude in coding services and procedures required in pediatric medicine, such as venipuncture, injections, vaccinations, vision testing, lesion excisions, foreign body removal, fracture care, etc.
he Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Coder (CPRC™) demonstrates sufficient experience and expertise in plastic and reconstructive surgery coding. A team of leading plastic and reconstructive surgery coding professionals developed the CPRC™ credential.
Experienced orthopedic coders are encouraged to sit for the COSC™ exam. COSC certification endorses proficiency in coding orthopedic procedures, including ACL reconstruction, joint, fusion, joint replacements, diskectomy, laminectomy, etc.
The Certified Professional Coder in Dermatology exam was developed by a team of leading dermatology coding professionals in conjunction with the Association of Dermatology Administrators/Managers (ADA/M). Experienced dermatology coders are encouraged to sit for the CPCD.
Experienced ob-gyn coders are encouraged to sit for the COBGC™ exam. COBGC certification validates coding proficiency for the spectrum of obstetric services — from antepartum care and delivery to postpartum care and surgical procedures that include hysterectomies, biopsies, colpopexies, etc.
Experienced urology coders are encouraged to sit for the CUC™ exam. CUC certification endorses proficiency applying correct ICD-10-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II, and modifier assignment when reporting urology services and procedures, such as urinalysis, cystoscopies, biopsies, prostatectomies, etc.
The Certified Internal Medicine Credential was developed by a team of leading internal medicine coding professionals. Coders with the CIMC credential have demonstrated sufficient experience and expertise in internal medicine coding.
Experienced family practice coders are encouraged to sit for the CFPC™ exam. CFPC certification recognizes expertise in coding general medicine/family practice services and procedures, such as venipunctures, injections, EKGs, lesion excisions, foreign body removals, fracture care, etc. This competency includes proper sequencing using RVUs when multiple procedures are performed.
Experienced emergency department coders are encouraged to sit for the CEDC® exam. CEDC certification CEDC certification endorses excellence in coding the myriad procedures performed by emergency department physicians, such as thoracentesis, laceration repair, moderate sedation, fracture care, foreign body removal, etc.
Experienced E/M coders are encouraged to sit for the CEMC® exam. CEMC certification validates command of evaluation and management (E/M) medical decision-making guidelines, which pertain to multiple specialties.
Advance your career with the Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA®) credential. Medical auditing is a critical piece to compliant and profitable physician practices. Whether it\’s Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits, private payer denials, or just peace of mind, more physicians plan to have audits conducted regularly. The risks of being non-compliant with documentation and coding are too great. As a CPMA, you will be able to use your proven knowledge of coding and documentation guidelines to improve the revenue cycle of nearly all healthcare practices.
Experienced anesthesia and pain management coders are encouraged to sit for the CANPC exam. CANPC certification validates a medical coder\’s proficiency in surgical reporting and pain management. This proficiency includes knowledge of anesthesia coding, as well as elements of anesthesia claims, such as units of time and anesthesia modifiers.
Experienced cardiology coders are encouraged to sit for the CCC® exam. CCC certification recognizes demonstrated skill reporting surgical procedures performed by cardiologists, such as heart catheterization, coronary interventions, pacemakers, peripheral vascular procedures, etc.
The AAPC\’s Certified Professional Compliance Officer (CPCO) credential addresses the ever-growing compliance requirements of government laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines. Medical practices need staff who can develop, organize, manage, and direct the functions of a compliance department.
By passing the CPCO exam, employers recognize you possess an understanding of the key requirements necessary to effectively develop, implement, and monitor a healthcare compliance program for your practice based on governmental regulatory guidelines — including internal compliance reviews, audits, risk assessments, and staff education and training.
The Certified Professional Biller (CPB™) credential prepares medical billers with skills to maintain all aspects of the revenue cycle. Without expertise in medical billing and the nuances of payer requirements, healthcare provider reimbursement may be compromised.
Without risk adjustment coding to ensure that a complete picture of each patient’s health is captured and reported on medical claims, health plans would lack appropriate funding and planning to cover treatment for high-risk patients. Certified Risk Adjustment Coders (CRCs) play a critical role in establishing accurate risk scores for patients, which promotes optimal patient care and ethical payer reimbursement for providers and health plans.
Students earning their CRC credential possess demonstrated expertise in the complexity of diseases associated with chronic conditions and comorbidities, as well as mastery of ICD-10-CM guidelines and risk adjustment guidelines. As CRCs, they are equipped both to ensure clinical documentation accurately portrays the patient’s health status and to ensure all clinically documented diagnoses are properly reported.
As a CRC, you will be able to:
The CPC-P demonstrates a coder’s aptitude, proficiency and knowledge of coding guidelines and reimbursement methodologies for all types of services from the payer\’s perspective. Contributing developers include Dr. Marc Lieb, M.D., J.D., Susan Goldsmith, CPC, as well as a number of other well-known CPC-Ps in the payer community. Claims reviewers, utilization management, auditors, benefits administrators, billing service, provider relations, contracting and customer service staff can each benefit their practice with the CPC-P® credential.
The CPC-P certification validates the knowledge and skills to adjudicate provider claims effectively. This credential demonstrates the basic knowledge of coding-related payer functions with emphasis on how those functions differ from provider coding.
The inpatient medical coding credential, Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC), is the only certification exclusively specialized in hospital and facility inpatient coding. The CIC validates mastery in abstracting information from the medical record for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding. It also represents expert knowledge of Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs) and the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS).
Passing the CIC exam qualifies you to work in the rapidly changing medical coding and billing environment of hospital inpatient facilities. Students who earn their CIC credential go on to report services provided to patients requiring inpatient admission in settings that include general hospitals (acute care facilities), skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), critical access hospitals (CAHs), teaching hospitals, inpatient rehab facilities (IRF), and long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).
With physicians choosing to join hospital groups over private practices, the need for certified outpatient coders continues to escalate, making COC certification an even smarter career move.
By passing the COC exam, employers recognize your mastery of outpatient hospital coding, including working knowledge of Ambulatory Payment Classifications (APCs), payment status indicators, and MS-DRGs. Students who earn their COC credential go on to report outpatient services in a variety of settings, such as:
AAPC’s CPC certification is the gold standard in medical coding and represents world-class expertise that is highly sought and well compensated by medical organizations across the country.
The Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam is the conclusive step to attaining CPC certification—renowned throughout the world of healthcare as the gold standard for physician-based medical coding. By passing the CPC exam and earning the right to append the CPC acronym to your name, you become a healthcare business professional recognized for reliable mastery of professional-fee medical coding.
Coding specialists are skilled in classifying medical data from patient records, often in a hospital setting but also in a variety of other healthcare settings. The CCS credential demonstrates a practitioner\’s tested skills in data quality and accuracy as well as mastery of coding proficiency.
The CCS certification is a natural progression for professionals experienced in coding inpatient and outpatient records. Coding specialists create coded data used by hospitals and medical providers to obtain reimbursement from insurance companies or government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Researchers and public health officials also use this data to monitor patterns and explore new interventions.
CCSs:
Coding specialist – physician-based professionals perform coding in physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, or specialty centers. The CCS-P certification exam assesses mastery-level proficiency in coding of health services delivery beyond the hospital setting.
CCS-Ps:
