The American Academy of Professional Coders, popularly known as the AAPC, is one of the largest organizations in the medical billing and coding industry and offers a number of certifications and training programs in the field. The agency states that over 92,000 medical professionals are certified through the AAPC in the country, with an additional 3,000 foreign medical professionals holding certification. The organization draws from a membership base of 126,000 participants.
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Founded in 1998, the AAPC’s initial goals were to provide a certification and training program for physician-based medical billing and coding professionals. The organization has since expanded to the present and in addition to physician-based coders it also offers programs designed for hospital-based coders. There is now an additional range of certification and training opportunities for many medical billing and coding facets, and the AAPC is branching out into physician, healthcare attorney, and IT staff training.
Besides the education and training side, the AAPC also offers its members several employment opportunities. These include a job database network as well as regional and national conferences where medical billing and coding professionals can meet their colleagues and potentially develop new employment leads.
Since its founding the AAPC has continued to play one of the dominant roles in the national accrediting agency field. Today holding an accreditation is considered the norm by many companies, is one of the first credentials many employers look for, and can at least serve as a justification for a higher salary.
The AAPC is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah and although it has not sought accreditation by the Better Business Bureau, it holds an A+ rating from that agency based on several factors:
- It has been in operation for a decade-and-a-half
- Its ratio of complaints to a business of its size is low
- The AAPC responded to the four total complaints received by the BBB in the past three years and assisted in resolving these
- There is significant background information available to the BBB regarding the AAPC
The AAPC is set up as a national (with an international presence) organization through which candidates can gain various medical billing and coding certifications, obtain study materials, receive continuing education, and complete different trainings. The AAPC also places an emphasis on local representation and currently has representatives across the US, as well as in Germany, the Bahamas, and India. Domestically, the organization is divided into state chapters, with those being divided into additional city or regional chapters. Tests, trainings, and continuing education courses can therefore be located very locally in many cases. An extension of these local chapters are regional conferences held in various cities throughout the year, and an annual national conference held every year.
Although not always a requirement, having some form of medial billing and coding accreditation can be helpful. Depending on your location, the saturation of medical billing and coding professionals in your market, and the size and prerogative of your employer, having some form of certification can also easily be a prerequisite for hire. And even if candidates are not interested in gaining an official certification, organizations like the AAPC also offer many educational opportunities which are becoming very relevant as the deadline to change to the ICD-10 approaches nearer.
With about 55,000 more members than its closest rival, the AAPC appears that it will maintain a corner on the medical billing and coding certification market at least for the near future. However as the industry changes and new certifying agencies come into play the market can always move unexpectedly.