How To Be Certified As A Radiology Coder
Submitted by: TigerEye
The health of the Western world is in a shambles. The medical industry is furiously trying to help. This means you have a chance at a good job as a radiology coder. If you would like to be certified in this job, have a look at this article.
You have a great opportunity to get ahead in this world if you are looking for a job in the medical industry. The position of radiology coder is one that is a "sit down" job. If you become certified in this line of work it shows you are serious about it. It requires concentration and computer work. You can decide to work in multiple areas. Some are :
- Smaller medical practices
- From home
- Hospitals
- Government agencies
- Emergency rooms
- Medical coding companies
You may end up having tasks similar to an administrator. If you work for yourself, you will have to take care of taxes, or hire someone to do them for you.
If you are young and still in high school you should take courses in math, science, and Latin. You will not need to go to college to obtain a certification as a radiology coder, but courses are available. A good step to take is to get acquainted with medical terminology. Your prior lessons in Latin ( if you took them in high school ) will certainly help you since English medical terms are usually in Latin and Greek.
There are few vocational schools that offer the courses to prepare for certification in radiology. If you live in or near Tennessee there is a community college called Columbia State Community College that offers a course for those who are going to be medical coders. You will be learning about the following :
- Monitoring accounts payable and receivable
- Insurance billing and coding
- Claim reviewing
- Computerized billing
- Medical office management
- Records management
- Medical terminology
The actual organizations that do the certifying for the radiology career are seemingly trustworthy groups. The "American Health Information Management Association" ( AHIMA ) and the "Radiology Coding Certification Board" ( RCCB ) are two places to familiarize yourself with. The RCCB has 1589 candidates as of this writing. The AHIMA has 53,000 members. They were founded in 1928 to increase the quality of medical health records. Choosing one does not mean you can not choose both. Having two certifications may seem unnecessary or needless but it will show your commitment to your career field.
Some books you may consider reading to prepare for your exam as a Certified Coding Associate or "CCA" are :
- "Professional Review Guide For The CCA Exam"
- "Step-by-Step Medical Coding"
The first book is by Patricia Schnering and the second book is by Carol J. Buck. They are both valuable tools to help you become certified as a radiology coder.
Certified Radiology Coder
Latest Articles about: Certifications
1: Be Certified by the ITIL v2 Foundation as a Brocade Network Engineer2: How to be a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
3: Get Certified as a Cisco Certified Network Professional
4: Be a Certified Information System Security Professional? Here is How
5: Be Certified as Red Hat Engineer
Word Count: 506 Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 Time: 11:44 AM
Previous - How To Become A Certified Reflexologist | Next - How To Become A Certified Window Installer