I was wondering if anyone has taken online courses in either of these areas and if it helped you get a job. Also, is anyone pursuing working from home in these areas? I would really appreciate any information about working from home (telecommuting) in these areas, as that is what I am limited to.

Thanks alot for any response, cc1.

I have not taken any courses in the area, however, I have looked at some programs regarding it. The first was Alfred State College (State University of New York College of Technology at Alfred) and the next was at Penn Foster College. Penn Foster is far less expensive but NA accredited vs RA. Alfred is State school(and RA) so the credential earned will most like be as recognized as any but more expensive.

Both these programs are available via distance(online)
Penn Foster->http://www.pennfostercollege.edu/healthIT/index.html
Alfred State->http://www.alfredstate.edu/academics...edical-records

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Hi whatever college that you choose, make sure you can get licensed in your state as a certified medical coder or transcriptionist, some states have stricter requirements than others when it comes to licensing in medical fields.

Medical Billing Schools from Elearners.com:
http://www.elearners.com/online-degr...al-billing.htm

Medical Transcription:
http://www.elearners.com/online-degr...nscription.htm

Gatlin Education:
http://www.gatlineducation.com/medic...scription.html

Blackstone Career Institute:
http://www.blackstone.edu/

Kaplan University:
http://getinfo.kaplan.edu/Microsite_...spx?ID=9&HAC=0

US Career Institute:
http://www.uscareerinstitute.com/med...FQF-lgodiwekaw

The AHIMA has information about becoming a certified medical coder professional on their website:
http://www.ahima.org/certification/

You could try your local community college, which may be far cheaper to see if they offer any courses online and if you qualify for a pell grant then you basically could attend college for free there, plus attending locally makes the certification process easier in some cases.

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M.S. , M.Ed. ,
Director of Online Faculty Training and Management, Online Adjunct, Online Instructional Technologist, and Course Designer

Here is a link to a course in medical coding offered by AHIMA, The American Health Information Management Association. The course is $2,000 and consists of 12 self-paced modules done via DL.

AHIMA is DETC accredited by itself, but this course has also been ACE reviewed for 41 credits. That's a good chunk of credit for 2K. This program also allows you to sit for AHIMA's various coder certifications (valuable by themselves).

The link: http://campus.ahima.org/campus/cours.../cb/index.html

If you do decide to pursue a degree or professional diploma in billing and coding through a DL school other than AHIMA, then run (do not walk) to the American Academy of Professional Coders (www.aapc.com) and review their requirements for their Certified Professional Coder (CPC) designation.

Credentials from AHIMA or the AAPC will be more valuable to you than ANY degree or diploma in billing or coding.

Good Luck.

Thanks alot for the helpful responses.

I think I am close to registering with PennFoster in Medical Billing and Coding. They are alot cheaper than AHIMA, but I don't know if there program is as complete and rigorous, or if it garners as much respect. Any thoughts on this, perhaps?

Hi my mom did the Medical Office Diploma from Penn Foster, which has a few of the same classes as the Medical Billing and Coding program, she loved her program and finished up in December of last year. From what I saw her complete the courses were complete and rigorous, but anything thats to do with medical stuff is to me anyways!

You need to check in your state to see if the program qualifies you to become a certified coder, some hospitals and medical jobs may require this others dont. So you may want to scour newspaper ads in your town to see what the usual requirements are first before you commit to Penn Foster or talk to the HR Department at hospitals you may want to work for.

__________________
Ed.D Should complete in 2011

M.S. , M.Ed. ,
Director of Online Faculty Training and Management, Online Adjunct, Online Instructional Technologist, and Course Designer

Go to the to the American Academy of Professional Coders (www.aapc.com) and review their requirements for their Certified Professional Coder (CPC) designation.

IIRC, They prefer, but do not require, an associates degree for their CPC designation. You will command a greater salary and have more doors open to you as a coder if you have the CPC designation. CPC and CCS credentials are worth the investment and they will take you further as a professional coder than a diploma program. I manage a private practice and our CPC's are worth thier weight in gold.

Whatever your decision, I wish you the best of luck.

From the AAPC website:

AAPC's CPC™ for physician and outpatient coding and AHIMA's CCS for inpatient coding are currently the only credentials recognized by employers, payers and government agencies including the Department of Labor (Occupational Handbook (www.stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos103.htm)) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) requires Independent Review Organizations to have an AHIMA or AAPC certified coder for claims review.

http://www.aapc.com/certification/index.aspx

Thanks again everyone.

@RobbCD,

I was wondering, in the practice that you manage, if any CPC's work from home as with telecommuting. I have heard that medical transcriptionists often work from home, but I am not sure if this is the case for medical coding and billing.

Thanks, cc1.

We have no coders that work from home. Both our our CPCs are in-house. My understanding is that transcriptionists that work from home are working for an out-sourced service that will contract with several practices to provide transcribing service. I can't say for certain that this is the case everywhere, but that's my understanding.

All of our transcription was out-sourced three years ago to a company that uses some domestic "work from home" transcriptionists, but the vast majority of the work is done in India. You may want to consider coding over transcription for long term job security for just this reason.

Good luck!