To become certified in Coding or Billing?

[Missy]

I have been doing Medical Billing for over 15 years and I am not certified. I have also been looking into getting my coding certificate. I guess my question is should I get my certificate for Medical Billing first and then work on getting my coding certificate? What do people think?????I currently work from home for a Doctor doing his billing its great but I would like to earn more money than what I am currently making and I do like the billing aspect of it but I am also coding some of his billing so I guess I am not sure what avenue to take what do people think will I advance further with a billing certificate or a coding certificate????

 

[Alicia Scott]

If earning extra money is your goal then I would suggest you start with the CPC first. It is required by almost everyone to get a job coding. However it is not required to have the billing certification but a perk and usually remains a specialty. So, get your CPC, start doing the coding for your doc., then say, "By the way, I can get a certification for billing as well." Maybe he will help pay for it.

In my opinion the CPC is always a starting point. With that you can take on many doctors and the fact you are a biller with experience......You can clean up their records for them. BIG PERK. They often offer a percentage of the clean up recovered.

 

[Missy]

Awesome thanks for the advise that was actually what I was thinking of doing. I was just thinking because I have more experience with billing that it would be easier to get my billing certificate before I get my coding but you are probably right. I would make more money with my coding certificate. As I am looking to advance myself into a job of coding and if billing is part of it I am ahead of the game with all of the experience I have with billing.