Are you interested in earning a certificate in medical coding and billing within a few weeks and you probably don’t know how to go about it?
If “Yes”
This article has been written to walk you through all the details that you need to know about this 4-week online course for medical billing and coding.
Purpose Of A Medical Biller and Coder
There are several available jobs in healthcare and every job position is important because they work collectively in achieving a purpose.
Having known that, medical coders and billers are needed in the health system as they are indispensable workers in the health community.
Generally, every medical doctor needs an individual who is trustworthy and can also submit accurate claims to insurance companies for payment.
With this essential need, a medical biller will be required.
A medical biller is a health professional who is in charge of managing the administrative responsibilities of processing payments for clients and billing insurance.
It sounds nice and huge right?
So if you are interested in becoming one, you will need to obtain a certificate either offline or online but preferably an online certification will do.
There are alot of online courses that you can venture into in order to earn a certificate as a professional medical biller and coding.
These courses usually take up to 4 weeks to complete though there are some that require more than 4 weeks.
Whichever one you decide to choose solely depends on you and the amount of time that you have and most importantly, how urgent you need the certificate.
Medical Biller And Coder Job Description?
As earlier mentioned, a medical biller and coder is a health professional who works closely with medical doctors.
These kinds of medical personnels are mostly found in places such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, etc.
As a medical biller and coder, your job in offices may vary depending on the place of your work.
Let’s look at the major job descriptions of a medical biller and coder.
They are as follows:
Firstly, a medical biller and coder is charged with the responsibility of reviewing files of patients for doctor’s notes on their condition.
It also includes working with medical doctors, medical assistants, nurses and patients.
A medical biller and coder is supposed to properly understand as well as maintain a patient’s privacy during the billing process.
Your job also includes billing insurance companies for services performed, studying claim information for accuracy, proper signature, and more.
Every medical hospital or medical facility always requires the assistance of a medical biller and coder.
So it is a good career path because they are indispensable.
How To Choose The Perfect Medical Billing and Coding Certification
If you are interested in pursuing a certificate or a degree as a medical biller and coder, it is important that you first consider the type of certificate or degree that you want.
You might be wondering the reason behind this right?
Let’s break it down for you.
In the employment field of medical practitioners, we have come to understand that there are employers who will prefer applicants with an associate degree, while on the other hand, there are employers who will accept a certificate in medical billing and coding.
So therefore, you can obtain a bachelor’s degree in medical billing and coding from an accredited university or college.
You can also transfer some credits based on the accelerated medical billing and coding program you choose.
This can only be possible if you have already earned college credits or have taken extra courses or even attended a vocational college.
Which Is Preferable: Classroom Or Online Education
You might be contemplating on which program will be preferable: Classroom or Online Education?
In order to answer this question, you need to understand that there are several medical billing and coding courses available such as the 4-week online course and many more.
So with all the so many courses available, you have a lot of options to choose from as well as numerous learning formats to adapt.
So If you have numerous responsibilities to attend to and you don’t have the time to attend physical classes.
Then, the best option for you is to attend online classes and obtain your certificate after your 4 weeks program.
But before you register for this 4-weeks online program in any institution of your choice, it is important that you ensure that the program or certification is accredited.
Also, make sure that the college, trade school or institution where you attain your certification is accredited as well if you decide to register through that one.
The reason is that, If you fail to verify and you earn credits from an unaccredited institution, there is a high possibility that those credits will not be transferred to a two or four-year college or university.
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4-Week Online Course For Medical Billing And Coding
Let’s look at the online and physical classroom courses that you can attend
- The 4-weeks Medical Billing And Coding
This might be your best option if you urgently need a job.
Completion Time Frame: 4-6 weeks, Self-paced
Cost of Course: $699.95
Course Delivery Type: Online
Certification Type Awarded: CMBP, HIPPA, P2-CMPB
This online course isn’t accredited but the medical billing course is a recognized institution in the United States.
This institution offers online courses that students can complete within forty to sixty hours.
By studying this program, it allows students to learn how to research references and know more about past experiences.
The course teaches students about employment outlook and how they can apply for jobs in the healthcare system.
It offers a medical billing course that focuses on skills for effective medical billing but most importantly, patient’s health data and treatments.
The instructors incharge of this program are skilled professionals whose live medical coding lessons are the best options for your career.
Once you complete this 4-week online medical billing course, you will receive a Certified Medical Billing Professional designation.
- MedCerts
Completion Time Frame: 12 weeks, Self-paced
Cost of Course: $2,000-$4,000
Course Delivery Type: Online
Certification Type Awarded: Certification
This is another online medical billing specialist certification and training program that can be completed in a few weeks.
This program is available online and unlike a 4-week medical billing and coding course, it usually lasts for over four weeks.
Once you complete this online program, you will become a certified medical billing and coding specialist.
MedCert provides you with study materials for its medical billing curriculum, such as 3D animations to lecture students on human anatomy and many more.
To enroll, you will be required to submit a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- CareerStep
Completed: 4 months – with 12 months of access to the course
Cost of Course: $3,699
Course Delivery Type: Online
Certification Type Awarded: Certificate
CareerStep offers you a medical billing and coding program in which students can complete within twelve weeks.
This institution is highly recognized and it is known to attract a lot of medical companies that are looking for new employees to recruit.
Its programs are considered the best training option for new employees at top medical companies.
The courses offered by CareerStep are structured to prepare students for certification exams which usually take about up to five hundred to seventy-seven hours to complete the coursework of the online medical billing and coding program.
The training provides a lot of information on biomedical terminology, medical coding, and health information.
If you decide to enroll into their program, you will be privileged to have access to a career advisor program and a mentor.
The mentor will assist you in getting your first medical billing and coding position.
Once you complete this online course, you will become a certified professional coder, certified outpatient coder, or certified coding specialist.
To be able to enroll, you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Ashworth College
Completion Time Frame: 4 to 12 months
Cost of Course: $649
Course Delivery Type: Online
Certification Type Awarded: Certificate
Accreditation: Distance Education Accrediting Commission.
Ashworth College is a private for-profit college established in 1987 and it is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).
Ashworth offers one of the fastest online medical billing and coding programs.
This online course can be completed within twelve months and allow students to start a career in medical billing and coding.
It is important to note that this isn’t a 4-week online medical billing and coding course.
As a student of this institution, you have access to all the information that you will need to complete the online program.
The program provides textbooks for students such as the ICD-10 books and also, you will be presented with a certificate of completion once you pass the program.
- Rasmussen College
Completion Time Frame: 9 months
Cost: $9,867 Tuition + $330 Books and additional supplies
Course Delivery Type: On-Campus and Online
Certification Type Awarded: Certificate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Similarly to Ashworth College, Rasmussen College is also a private profitable college spreaded throughout the United States.
The institution offers both online and on-campus programs.
The program offered by Rasmussen College can be completed in nine months.
Throughout that period, students are allowed to study the program at their own pace.
Once you complete the program, you will be able to complete a program in Health Information Technology and earn an associate degree.
The coursework of this Institution are anatomy, medical terminology, and medical coding.
- Penn Foster Career School
Completion Time Frame: 10 months for the diploma
Cost of Course: Estimate tuition click here
Course Delivery Type: campus + online
Certification Type
Awarded: Diploma
Accreditation: DEAC, regionally and nationally accredited
Penn Foster Career School is an institution that offers both online and on-campus programs.
The program is affordable and can be completed within the space of ten months.
It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).
This program prepares students for certification exams.
- Herzing University
Completion Time Frame: A year for a diploma, 16 months for an associate’s
Cost of Course: Estimate tuition click here
Course Delivery Type: campus + online
Certification Type Awarded: Associate degree, diploma
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Herzing University is a private university located throughout the United States and its headquarters is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The institution provides a diploma with forty-four credit hours, and it can be completed in 12 months. Unlike a 4-week online medical billing and coding course, it takes months to complete this program.
- Miller-Motte
Completion Time Frame: 15 months
Cost of Course: $9,720
Course Delivery Type: On-Campus, Online, and Hybrid of both programs
Certification Type Awarded: Certificate
Accreditation: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Miller-Motte College is a system for profitable technical colleges scattered across the Southern United States.
It offers a program that can be completed within a year and three months either online or on campus.
So, If you reside in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina or South Carolina, you can attend their courses at the local campuses near you and if you are not close to these states, you can complete the program online.
- North Idaho College
Completion Time Frame: 2 years
Cost: $8,914 – $22,711 Out of State Resident
Course Delivery Type: In-person
Certification Type Awarded: Associate of Applied Science
Accreditation: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
North Idaho College is a public community college that offers associate degrees and an Associate of Applied Science degree.
The program offered at North Idaho College prepares students for national examinations and also equip them with the right skill.
It can be within two years.
So students are required to attend classes in person to complete this program since this program is not available online.
- Dakota State University
Completion Time Frame: 12 months
Cost: $10,032 – $13,549 Out-of-State Resident
Course Delivery Type: In-person and online
Certification Type Awarded: Certificate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Dakota State University is a public institution that offers academic programs to students.
The program can be completed in twelve months.
The program helps to prepare students for the national certification examination.
It teaches students more about human anatomy, health management, healthcare law and compliance, and healthcare procedures.
Affordable Medical Billing And Coding Certificates
Let’s look at other affordable medical billing and coding certificates and institutions where you can obtain these certificates.
The Institutions that will be listed below are Institutions that offer the program at a tuition fee below $5,000.
They are as follows:
School: Albany State University
Annual Tuition: $1,140
School: Alexander Technical and Community College
Annual Tuition: $2,808
School: Montana State University Billing
Annual Tuition: $2,832
School: Cowley County Community College
Annual Tuition: $3,480
School: Western Nebraska Community College
Annual Tuition: $3,547
School: Madison Area Technical College
Annual Tuition: $3,889
School: Webster State University
Annual Tuition: $3,892
School: Southwest Wisconsin Technical
Annual Tuition: $3,958
School: Oconee Fall Line Technical College
Annual Tuition: $4,000
School: Gaston College
Annual Tuition: $4,824
School: Wayne Community College
Annual Tuition: $4,824
Conclusion
With this information, we hope that you have been able to properly understand all that you need to know about medical billing and coding including the various Institutions that offer the 4-weeks online courses.
For further enquiries, drop your questions and comments in the comment section below.
Thanks for reading!