All About the AAPC

What does the American Academy of Professional Coders offer, and what resources do they have? Find out here...

With over 100,000 members, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) is the nation's largest credentialing organization in the medical industry. It offers everything that you could ever need to know about all aspects of medical coding and medical auditing, and is on the cutting edge of upcoming changes to the medical industry.

The 3 most useful AAPC offerings for those entering the medical profession are: (click to skip to that section)

• Training in medical coding and medical auditing
• Certification in dozens of areas in healthcare
• An extensive local and national job search database

Training in medical coding and auditing

The AAPC offers training in 4 major areas of healthcare. They are:

• Medical Billing Training: The AAPC offers both online and classroom courses on medical coding. These teach you medical codes sets (ICD-9, CPT, and HCPCS), as well as prepare you for a career in the medical coding field.

  These classes teach you how to be a certified coder - and the AAPC also offers certification.

• Medical Coding Training: The online medical billing classes offered by the AAPC are aimed at teaching you the ins and outs of the medical billing industry, including the process of claims submission and Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party reimbursement.

• Medical Auditing Training: The medical auditing program offered by the AAPC is a highly specialized course aimed at helping you pass the CPMA certification exam.

  This program teaches you how to:

  • audit charts
  • identify incorrect coding
  • reduce coding errors
  • master documentation guidelines for all medical services.

• Supplemental Training: The AAPC also offers courses aimed at teaching newcomers the fundamentals of the medical industry.

AAPC certification

Whether or not you decide to pursue any type of training through the AAPC, you can still choose to take one of their many certification exams.

The AAPC has certified more than 77,000 of their members in the many types of certifications they offer.

All the certifications offered by the AAPC are nationally recognized by medical societies, employers, and government entities. As such, they're a great way to demonstrate your expertise and get gainful employment in many areas of healthcare.

There are 3 main types of certifications offered by the AAPC:

1. Medical Coding Certifications: The medical coding certifications offered by the AAPC indicate an individual's in-depth knowledge and ability to use the ICD-9, HCPCS, and CPT code sets.

   Some of the most prominent of these certifications are:

   • CPC: Certified Professional Coder
   • CPC-H: Certified Professional Coder-Hospital Outpatient
   • CPC-P: Certified Professional Coder-Payer
   • CIRCC: Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder
   • Specialty: Over ten different certifications in specialty areas

2. Medical Auditing Certification: The medical auditing certification offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders validates your knowledge of chart auditing, documentation and medical coding guidelines, and your ability to identify and communicate any risk regarding charting practices.

   This auditing certificate is called CPMA (Certified Professional Medical Auditor).

3. Medical Compliance Certification: This certification is a highly specialized validation of your ability to use and monitor the key elements of your practice's compliance programs. Using your medical compliance certification ensures your ability to help and maintain other in their compliance efforts.

   This certificate is called CPCO (Certified Professional Compliance Officer).

AAPC job search database

Perhaps one of the most important services offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders is their extensive job search database.

This wide-ranging database contains thousands of medical coding, billing, and auditing related jobs, ranging from beginning positions to those requiring years of experience and specialized types of certifications.

The database has a special search tool which allows you to search for jobs in a specific area of expertise, location, or business.

As well as being able to search for jobs, this database also allows employers to post new jobs as they are offered. The database is updated continuously, so it reflects only the most up-to-date job information.

What else do they offer?

The AAPC also offers an extensive array of everything related to the medical industry, from ICD-10 updates, extensive discussion forums on everything billing and coding related, and continuing education units.

In short, the AAPC is a one-stop shop for the medical industry - has everything you could ever need to know!

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