During the pandemic of Covid 19, there are numerous educational programs which turn to online school programs. So it’s with the Medical Billing and Coding Bachelor’s Degree program which enforces online learning. Despite online learning, the medical billing and coding school really attracts a variety of students including high school graduates.
Are you looking for further information about medical billing and coding bachelor’s degree programs online? Then, do you also have a plan to enroll in a medical billing and coding bachelor’s program online?
Thankfully, this post will show you a little information about medical billing and coding and the best online schools you should attend to choose a medical billing and coding Bachelor’s degree program. Let’s see our post below!
What Is a Medical Billing and Coding Program?
An associate degree in medical billing and coding is a two-year technical program which is designed to prepare the students for entry-level careers in the growing field of health information. Additionally, a medical billing and coding degree will prepare the students for national coding certification exams and entry-level positions.
The medical billing and coding students will perform this program through a combination of course lectures, readings and practical assignments. Throughout this program, they will learn medical terminology. Insurance plans and regulations, human anatomy, patient account management, developing skills in medical ethics and medical insurance claim processing as well as diagnosis and procedure coding.
Moreover, medical billing and coding refers to the systems which are used by healthcare practitioners to categorize and accept payment for services. They totally use International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes to make sure that doctors and nurses will accept standardized documentations of a patient’s diagnosis and care instructions.
The medical billing and coding specialists probably use the same clinical codes to process insurance reimbursements or compile population health statistics.
How Worthy Is the Medical Billing and Coding Program?
Over half of all medical billing and coding specialists already work in hospital, clinics or physicians offices with remainders who are employed by research organizations, insurance companies, nursing care facilities and government agencies.
The medical billing and coding program graduates also probably qualify for jobs in a related field such as medical assisting or medical transcription.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment for medical records and health information technicians will rapidly increase by 11% from 2018 to 2028 which will potentially add 23,100 jobs. Most growth which is projected are likely to be a direct result of an aging population and a wider use of electronic records by medical providers.
Of course, earning a medical billing and coding bachelor’s will place you for supervisory roles and other careers advancement opportunities.
5 Best Online Medical Billing and Coding Degree Program
Deciding to pursue a medical billing and coding bachelor’s degree online is such a great choice for you. However, finding the best school to provide online learning will need careful consideration of factors such as program format, cost, and also required in-person components.
Then, are you looking for the best online degree programs for medical billing and coding? Let’s see 5 best schools which provide medical billing and coding online programs below!
- Keiser University – FT Lauderdale
At Keiser University, the students will learn how to use medical language and classification systems to code medical diagnoses and procedures as well as do administrative duties for healthcare practitioners accurately. Keiser accepts up to 45 transfer credits which are earned with a grade of ‘C’ with the admission requirements include a high school diploma or GED.
- School type: private nonprofit
- Graduation rate: 65%
- Receiving loans: 67%
- Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College offers a two-year program in August and January which start dates and features sequenced credential training beginning with a medical coding specialist certificate in the first year. The medical billing and coding program at SWTC trains the students to do tasks which are very essential for healthcare practitioners.
- School type: public nonprofit
- Graduation rate: 61%
- Receiving loans: 49%
- Hutchinson Community College
The students who pursue a career in Hutchinson Community College and take medical billing and coding programs will earn Healthcare Coding Specialist Certificate. This online program consists of 45 credits hours that can be completed in just three semesters.
Most credits which are earned in medical billing and coding programs are applicable to the Health Information Management Associate in Applied Science degree. In-state students should pay around $116 credit hour and out-of-state students pay around $147 per credit hour which makes the total cost for tuition approximately $5,220 or $6,615 for the certification in state.
- Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University offers the medical billing and coding online through the university’s Office of Continuing Education which provides accreditation only online. This university recommends the students to follow a pace of three modules, each of which consists of three courses.
Sure, each one must last no more than 15 weeks in total. Once completing the program, the students will accept a Medical Coding Certificate of Completion. They probably choose to take the Certified Coding Associate (CCA), the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), or Certified Professional Coder (CPC) national certification exams.
- Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Indiana University offers a remote medical billing and coding certification program through Indiana University’s School of Information and Computing. Of course, that’s a fully online program which offers 28 credit hours. After completion of the certificate program, the students are eligible to sit for the CCA exam.
The Undergraduate Certificate in Medical Coding program at IUPUI has several prerequisites. Surely, you should have completed Anatomy for Health Care Management, Physiology for Health Care Management, Medical Terminology and Computer Concepts for Health Information before they can sign.
The credits which are earned through this program will be eligible to be applied toward a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management. Even though the costs vary depending on the student’s residence and other factors, the expected cost that the students should pay is around $295 per credit hour in tuition.
Okay, those are 5 best online degree programs for medical billing and coding that you should consider.
