Wiki CPC certification versus an associate's degree in medical coding

jennbrad

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I am a certified medical coder currently employed with an FQHC. I am just curious as to how many people went on to get an associate's degree in the coding profession and if that made much of a difference in helping them get a job, and if so how much of a difference in pay was there. I want to further my education in this field but not real sure if I should just go for another certification in something else or if I should just try to get my associates degree first and go from there. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I already had my associate's degree when I started my coding job, but getting CPC certification was mandatory to keep the position. The associates degree was not a requirement, though.
 
If you end up with the exact same qualifications as another applicant and one has a degree and one doesn't, that may make a difference in hiring. I have my CPC and now I'm going to school but not for medical coding I think it would be silly to do so. I had to laugh when the advisor at the community college told me I should go for a certificate in Medical coding when I gave my background and that I had a CPC. Maybe a related degree like business administration may be a good idea.

I'm enrolled in a computer information systems associates degree program so I can get into healthcare data analysis. Hoping to transfer into a bachelors degree program for Big Data analysis but who knows
 
CPC vs associate's degree

Whether you should pursue your associate's degree really depends on what you plan to do, your employer, and your location. When I finished coding school, noone would give you a chance without prior coding experience if you were a CPC-A. However, they were accepting RHITs without experience. Which is ironic because not all RHITs know how to code nor want to. The RHIT is more of a management degree. If you plan on going into management, go for it. If you plan on coding, I'd advise you to get coding credentials. If you plan on managing a coding department I'd strongly encourage you to get both. Good luck!

Jazmine Brock, RHIT, CPC, CCS
 
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