How Does Medical Billing Certification Help My Career?

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As a medical billing instructor, I am asked how being certified in medical billing is helpful. Can a person get a job without being certified? The field of medical billing is vast and expanding. One can get a job without becoming nationally certified. Due to the new healthcare legislation and aging of today’s baby boomer population more people are accessing healthcare services and creating a need for qualified and trained personnel.

Medical Billing Certification Help My Career

Whenever one is applying for a job the more documentation of your skillset through job experience, certifications, etc. is always a good thing. It gives “power” to your resume. Additionally, being certified let’s your prospective employer know that you are a professional and that your skillset has been documented by an objective and well-known organization like AAPC. Medical Billing Certification also can help your career by putting you in touch through your professional organization with other certified professionals. This, obviously, creates great networking opportunities. I recommend to my medical billing students to certify through AAPC’s new medical billing credential. The AAPC does offer a “mock” test for sale on their website.

To best prepare for the exam one can use the mock exam, and I highly recommend studying the textbook: Understanding Health Insurance. Certification can also assist if you lack job experience. It assists the employer in viewing you as a professional within the industry. Sometimes students ask me if they should certify directly after completing their online medical billing training program or should they get some experience first. I always recommend going right for certification. There are arguments for and against this stance. Gaining experience first makes sitting for the exam a bit easier.

However, getting that first job and having that certification under your belt helps to get your foot in the door. The AAPC does offer 1 free retake if you do fail the test on your first try. Without a doubt, professional certification in the medical billing field can do nothing but help and assist your career.

By: Dawn Moreno, PhD, CBCS, CMAA, MTC. Lives in the beautiful Southwest United States and has been an instructor for medical coding/billing for the past 7 years. Interested in quality medical billing training? Be Certified on your Medical Billing Career