Medical Coding Specialist

While the term “medical coding specialist” is the general term applied to this profession, there are various levels of medical coding specialists. The American Health Information Management Association and The American Academy of Professional Coders offer various levels of certification and credentials. Depending on the level of certification a specialist in medical coding holds, the job responsibilities and pay vary.

Professional Range for a Medical Coding Specialist

The American Health Information Management Association offers three certification programs: The Certified Coding Associate is for those who can demonstrate skill in medical coding even if they don't have much actual work experience. Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) is a coder who typically works in a hospital and codes medical data from patient charts. The Certified Coding Specialist, Physician Based (CCS-P) has skill in group practices, multi-specialty clinics, doctor's offices.

Through The American Academy of Professional Coders, one can be certified as a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) for physician office coding or as a Certified Professional Coder-Hospital (CPC-H) for facility or hospital coding.

There are also designations sometimes used by employers such as Medical Coding Specialist 1, 2 3, etc. right up to Medical Coding Supervisor. Each of these titles designates not only a certain level of skill but also a certain level of responsibility. In the higher levels of this ranking, individuals carry supervision responsibilities. Of course, the pay range and educational requirements of a specialist in medical coding increase as one climbs up the professional ladder.

While a beginning coder with an associate's degree might expect to earn somewhere around $25,000 annually, the salary for a highly experienced coder with supervisory responsibilities can climb up to as high as $50,000.

When looking at various professions as a medical coding specialist, you need to consider not only what pay you wish to receive but also how much time and money you wish to invest in training. The medical coding specialist can begin working with a home study package and a simple software package but in doing so, you need to know that you'll be competing with coding specialists who hold 2 and 4 degrees as well as nurses who have moved into medical coding .

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