Coding Education

Question: Are there any good coding courses that an employee could get through the mail or over the Internet? We pay for the course and give the employee a bonus if they pass and get certified as a coder. It has been several years since an employee has done it and the online company we used to rely on is no longer in business. We'd love to find education specific to OB/GYN.

Answer: ACOG has an E&M documentation web cast and some in-person sessions: www.acog.org/postgrad/index.cfm

The AAPC also is offering a brand new credential in OB/GYN coding. See www.aapc.com/certification/specialty_credentials.html. The main site also allows you to look up educational meetings by state.

I took the outpatient boot camp hosted by www.codingspecialists.com. It's a week long and very intensive, off-site, and not specific to OB/GYN, but it did allow me to pass the CPC exam with flying colors my first time out.

An alternative: Invite someone really good at OB/GYN coding to come to your office over a weekend to train staff in-person, on-site. As there don't seem to be many good online offerings, this may end up being cheaper than having folks travel somewhere.