How Do I Receive Coding Specialist Certification?

A coding specialist is a subspecialty of the medical records or health information technician profession. To expedite insurance company reimbursements, these employees work with medical records to identify and document specific diagnoses, procedures, and treatments using numbered codes. After completing a high school diploma, coding specialists were once trained on the job. Most new advertised vacancies now require a coding specialist certification in addition to a health records technician associate’s degree. Regardless of a current coder’s educational background, one or both of the specialty’s two major certifying organizations offer coding specialist certification by examination.

Individuals in the United States who have completed a two-year associate’s degree program in health information can take the American Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA) exam to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) (AHIMA). Achieving RHIT certification means that an individual has been trained in the fundamentals of coding as well as other aspects of medical record review. AHIMA offers three coding specialist certifications, the first of which is considered the minimum standard for entry into the field by the organization: a Certified Coding Associate (CCA), a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), and a Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-based (CCSP) (CCS-P). Despite the requirement for an associate’s degree for RHIT certification, AHIMA offers a coding specialist certification to anyone with a high school diploma as a minimum educational preparation. A coder can earn a CCA, CCS, or CCS-P coding specialist certification after passing an AHIMA-sponsored written specialty examination.

The American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) is the other major credentialing body for this profession. The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) offers general coding specialist certification as well as a variety of subspecialty certifications. AAPC, like AHIMA, requires at least a high school diploma to sit for the certification exams, though an associate’s degree is preferred. Certified Professional Coder (CPC®), Certified Professional Coder-Outpatient Hospital (CPC-H®), Certified Professional Coder-Payer (CPC-P7®), and Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder (CIRCC®) are all coding specialist certifications. Certification as a specialty coding specialist is also available in the following areas:

CASCCTM (Ambulatory Surgical Center);

CANPCTM (Canadian Anesthesia & Pain Management);

CEDCTM (Clinical Emergency Department);

(CGSCTM); (CGSCTM); (CGSCTM); (CGSCTM); (

COBGCTM stands for Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Pediatrics (CPEDCTM), as well as 14 other fields.

Both credentialing bodies require an application for membership, a membership fee, a testing fee, and the successful completion of a written certification exam for all certifications. Annual or biannual membership fees, as well as ongoing education, are required to maintain membership.