Wiki Question about Certification Exams - I am having a hard time deciding

[jennylynh]

Hi all,

I am having a hard time deciding what certification to go after now, I currently hold my CPC. I have worked in Pathology almost 2 years, Radiology in the past and I absolutely love outpatient coding.
Right now it's coming down to the CCS vs COC vs CIC. I have taken the RHIT 3 times and failed, I don't like the AHIMA format. But which credential would make me more marketable?
I am interested in Inpatient coding, but I'm afraid of learning the new stuff that comes with it. I am so used to CPT.
Also I really want to get into ER and outpatient surgical.
Which one would you recommend? At least with the CIC I would get 1 free retake.

 

[Samantha.Prince]

Coc

Hi-

Maybe I'm a little bias but I say the COC is the one you want to go for. I have a CPC and COC and both have served me well in the outpatient side. The COC also has two attempts built into the price of the exam.

 

[CodingKing]

Since Jenny posted the same question in multiple areas of the forum I'll put my response here as well. I concur with above about COC. Although I'm still working on getting my CPC I can see the hierarchy.

Looking at a COC training syllabus, more than 50% of it are modules you learned during CPC. I didn't compare CIC to COC but its probably more 40/60 due to needing to learn PCS. Each one builds on the concepts of the other.