Wiki Orthopaedics Coding Education Needed

[suemt]

I'm looking for suggestions for education (courses, webinars, etc.) to learn orthopaedic coding/billing. I see that AAPC has some information, but it looks like it is all geared towards earning a specialty certification as opposed to learning about the topic.

Thanks in advance for any links or other suggestions.

 

[AlanPechacek]

You have jumped into a large body of troubled waters with orthopedic coding, particularly with the institution of ICD-10 last Fall. I am assuming you have had some education and training in diagnosis and procedural coding so that you have a reasonable grasp of medical vocabulary and terminology.

As for ICD-10 diagnosis coding, I would suggest that you investigate ICD-10 for Orthopedic Surgery, a coding manual/book devoted to orthopedic surgery. It can be assessed at www.icd10orthocoder.com.

As for training courses for orthopedics other than AAPC, which you apparently have researched, other option include American Hospital Association (AHACodingclinicadvisor.com), KarenZupko & Associates, and the Coding Institute (Supercoder.com). These are all competing organizations in medical coding. Karen Zupko does have some advantage in that they are the "chosen ones" for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). They do training courses all over the country, but I do not know that they only train for orthopedic surgery, but probably train for the medical specialties as well.

I hope this helps you, Alan Pechacek, M.D.