Top 16 Questions to Ask Potential Schools
1. Is the Medical Coding School accredited and by who?
Coding Clarified is post secondary licensed by the Idaho State Board of Education. We are required to have a bond. This is important if the school goes under, one can go to the board for potential compensation.
2. Are the instructors licensed and AAPC Certified?
The CPC Exam is created by AAPC and the Medical Coding instructors need to have completed certification already to teach you properly.
3. Does the Medical Coding School include a CPC exam voucher and is the AAPC membership included in the tuition cost?
We do include both but not all schools do. These can be very costly. Please do your homework to find the BEST Medical Coding School for you. We would love if that was us.
4. How long is the course?
You must complete 20 chapters. Someone who does not have any background in the field is expected to spend 8-12 hours of study time per chapter. You are required to have completed 80 course credit hours to become a CPC-A. If want to be a CPC, you would need to complete the Practicode also.
5. How will I get experience?
We offer an online self-paced internship to all our students in order for them to get the experience that they need. Internships allow one to gain the experience and confidence needed to become successful as a Medical Coder.
6. Does the school offer job resources and placement to get started with your Medical Coding career?
Know your game plan. Create goals and write them down. See if the school you are interested in aligns with them. Know the process and what their role is when it comes to helping you succeed.
We have a Coding Clarified Career Consultant on staff, Catherine Crumpler helps our students once they have completed our program. We offer our students written material on places to apply, things to do and we even post Medical Coding job opportunities on our site.
7. Do they include a professionally written resume?
At Coding Clarified, we want to ensure that you represent yourself and skill set accurately and appropriately. We feel that having a professional resume is key. We provide this to all our students. Our resume writer is a specialist in Medical Coding resumes and includes the right verbiage and exactly what is needed to land a Medical Coding job.
8. Do they use the AAPC curriculum and are they an AAPC partner?
Our curriculum centers around their curriculum. AAPC created the CPC test so this is essential.
9. Are the Medical Coding books included and are they AAPC books?
This is prime, as books can be pricey. It all adds up. The CPC Exam is based on the AAPC books so this is crucial. We include all four books needed, CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II and a workbook.
10. Can you do it at your own pace and online or is it in a group setting and in-person?
You will need to decide which type of learning is better for you and outweigh the pros and cons. Most like the flexibility of at-home schooling but do make sure that the school is still involved and helpful. We offer online instruction only and it can be completed as quickly as you work.
11. Do the instructors help you if you are struggling?
We offer amazing help to our students. Their success is our success. You may not find this with our competition. We are always available via email and are happy to answer questions quickly. We offer 1-on-1 help when needed via Go-to-Meeting. This must be scheduled.
12. What is the turn around time when trying to get help and is it one-on-one?
Can you just pick up the phone or message them and reach a human? Some businesses are hard to reach or make you email and put in a support request prior to speaking to them. This can be frustrating.
13. Do they offer scholarships?
We are partnered with many US State Workforces to offer schooling at no cost to you, absolutely FREE. We are currently approved in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, part of South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Apply for a Medical Coding Scholarship NOW.
14. What is the cost if I don’t get approved for a scholarship?
Coding Clarified is much less expensive than the majority of the Coding schools out there. We ONLY charge $3750 for the full program. We also offer many more perks than others. Learn More.
15. Do they offer financing if I am not able to get a scholarship?
Some Medical Coding Programs do offer financing. We are one of those schools and we offer multiple options. Check out our financing options.
16. Does the Medical Coding School offer support or have a group that I can engage with?
Not only do we offer instructor support, but we also have two groups on Facebook that you can join. Join Medical Coding and Billing Forum and Medical Billing and Coding Forum NOW.
We would love to have you as one of our students here at Coding Clarified. We hope that this was informative and will give you some strong guidance when planning your future in Medical Coding. Call us at 1-833-Med-Code with any questions that you may have.