The AAPC, previously known by the full title of the American Academy of Professional Coders,
is a
professional association
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...
for people working in specific areas of administration within healthcare businesses in the United States. AAPC is one of a number of providers who offer services such as certification and training to
medical coders,
, auditors,
compliance managers, and practice managers in the United States. , AAPC has over 190,000 worldwide
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
,
of which nearly 155,000 are certified.
History
The AAPC was founded in 1988,
as the American Academy of Professional Coders, with the aim of providing education and certification to coders working in physician-based settings. These settings include group practices and specialty centers (i.e. non-hospital settings). In 2010, as their services had expanded beyond medical and outpatient coding, the full name was dropped in favor of the AAPC
initialism.
Products and services
AAPC provides training, certification, and other services to individuals and organizations across medical coding, medical billing, auditing, compliance, and practice management. These services include networking events such as medical coding seminars and conferences.
Certifications
AAPC offers a number of certifications for healthcare professionals, including:
*
Medical coding
A clinical coder—also known as clinical coding officer, diagnostic coder, medical coder, or nosologist—is a health information professional whose main duties are to analyse clinical statements and assign standard codes using a classification ...
and
medical billing
Medical billing is a payment practice within the United States healthcare system. The process involves a healthcare provider obtaining insurance information from a patient and filing, following up on and appealing claims with health insurance co ...
, including stand-alone certifications in over 20 specialty areas,
* Medical auditing
*
Medical compliance
In medicine, patient compliance (also adherence, capacitance) describes the degree to which a patient correctly follows medical advice. Most commonly, it refers to medication or drug compliance, but it can also apply to other situations such as m ...
* Physician practice management
See also
*
Health informatics
*
Information governance
*
Medical classification
A medical classification is used to transform descriptions of medical diagnoses or procedures into standardized statistical code in a process known as clinical coding. Diagnosis classifications list diagnosis codes, which are used to track diseas ...
External links
AAPC official site
References
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Organizations established in 1988
Medical associations based in the United States
Health informatics and eHealth associations
Coding schools
Companies based in Salt Lake City
Medical and health organizations based in Utah