Certified Coder Academy Expands Program Access with Medical Coding Essentials

NEW YORK, NY, March 07, 2014 (Press-News.org) Certified Coder Academy, a service of Online Career Advancement and leading medical coding certification exam preparation provider, has expanded their program to accommodate participants who lack previous coding training or experience.

The expanded Certified Coder Academy program, Medical Coding Essentials, will include an additional three courses, for a total of nine. Existing courses in the current six-course program will have lessons, quizzes, and resources updated and separate courses for Anatomy/Physiology, Advanced ICD-10, and Pathophysiology/Pharmacology will be added. There will also be several bonus study guides and a health care computer technology resources and references course.

Certified Coder Academy already offers introductory courses that cover both ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. ICD-10-CM is the new diagnostic coding system and ICD-10-PCS contains inpatient procedure codes (designed to be used for inpatient hospital settings). These coding systems are scheduled to replace ICD-9-CM and expected to be implemented on October 1, 2014.

Medical Coding Essentials, offered by Certified Coder Academy, is designed to facilitate the transition into the medical coding field for people who have limited previous coding experience or training. The Medical Coding Essentials program will remain comprehensive enough to continue accommodating the numerous nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals that traditionally participate in the Certified Coder Academy online coding course management system.

Upon completing the Medical Coding Essentials program offered by Certified Coder Academy, students will be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and skills essential for a medical coder to pursue the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Certified Coding Associate (CCA) credential. Certified Coder Academy participants have consistently attained more advanced coding certifications offered by AHIMA and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). The Medical Coding Essentials program is suitable for beginner and experienced medical coders.

Level One of the Certified Coder Academy Medical Coding Essentials program introduces students to medical terminology, medical billing, and the principles of anatomy/physiology; participants continue with Level Two, with introductory courses covering CPT/HCPCS, ICD-10-CM/PCS, and principles of pathophysiology/pharmacology; after successful completion of the first two levels, more challenging courses are accessed, including advanced CPT/HCPCS, advanced ICD-10-CM/PCS, and a very comprehensive Certified Coding Associate(CCA) Review course.

The Medical Coding Essentials program is self-paced allowing students to participate in the course on their own schedule; the program offers the CCA Review course for three primary reasons: 1) most Certified Coder Academy medical coding students lack prior coding experience and/or training; 2) The AHIMA Certified Coding Associate credential is an incomparable premier certification designed for entry-level medical coders and; 3) the CCA exam covers both in-patient and out-patient coding scenarios. Even experienced medical coders who do not hold a professional certification should seriously consider first preparing for, and attaining, the Certified Coding Associate credential.

Get more information about the Certified Coder Academy Medical Coding Essentials program at certifiedcoderacademy.com.

The mission of Online Career Advancement (OCA) is to provide comprehensive and affordable online academic preparation programs and courses that help prepare participants to successfully pursue employment, career transition and development, professional licenses, certifications and post-secondary education programs. Online Career Advancement courses are self-paced and student-centered. Online Career Advancement programs offer open enrollment and anytime-anywhere access.