I have been looking for a new career option and I am seriously looking at online medical coding schools to help get me started on a new career. The health care industry is booming and medical billing and coding is expected to grow at a rate of up to 18% by 2016.

That means lots of employment opportunities and that is exactly what I am looking for. There are numerous schools for me to chose from. One of the most important points is that the school needs to be accredited and offer a program that will prepare me to pass the required certification exams.

Several online medical billing and coding schools offer Associates Degrees and others offer certificate programs. For anyone looking to complete a certificate program they will find that they are prepared for entry level work in the coding field. I myself already have a Bachelors Degree in another field so for me the certificate program would work well. For someone who wants to earn an Associates Degree and create a new career option for themselves then medical coding schools with that offering may be right for them.

Depending on the amount of time that a person has to devote to completing a program from an online school, a certificate can be completed rather quickly. An Associates Degree can take 2 years plus if it is done full or part time. Some degree programs can be completed in as little as 16 months. Some of the course descriptions that I have read include learning medical terminology, basic CPT/HCPS coding, ICD-9-CM coding, managing data base systems,handling medical records,dealing with health insurance, health care, business law, billing, and all other areas that pertain to medical coding. There is obviously a lot to learn from medical billing and coding programs.

The flexibility offered by going to school online was the first thing that drew me to it. I do want to be sure to chose a reputable school with an accredited program. When I searched the internet I was impressed with the number of online medical coding schools but I am sure that they and their programs are not all equal. Now it is my job to gather as much information as I can and chose from the schools that offer what I am looking for. Louis Zhang, Accrmedicalbillingtraining dot com.



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