Angela Schmitter, RHIT, CAH-CBS, CPC, Director of Health Information at Scotland County Hospital and Clinics in Memphis, MO, recently completed the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) educational program and passed the credentials exam to earn the status of Certified Professional Coder (CPC). Medical coding certifications from AAPC are the gold standard in the healthcare industry. Certifications are nationally recognized by employers, physician societies, and government organizations.
The CPC exam is a test of medical coding proficiency consisting of 150 multiple-choice questions that assess 17 areas of knowledge. Most questions present a coding scenario to test proper application of CPT® procedure codes, HCPCS Level II supply codes, and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes—all of which medical providers use to submit claims to payers.
Medical coders update patient records with standardized information needed for data management and billing purposes. Every time a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider performs a service, a code needs to be assigned to each diagnosis and procedure. The AAPC CPC program better prepares trained billers to more accurately locate documentation in the patient record to support the coding process and assign codes for diagnoses and procedures as well as how to submit medical charges to insurance companies and manage every aspect of the medical insurance claim process.
Schmitter has been employed at Scotland County Hospital for nearly 28 years. She was the Assistant Director of Health Information under Elizabeth McClamroch. Upon McClamroch’s retirement, Schmitter became the Director of the department in 1997. Besides being the Director of Health Information, she is also the Compliance Office, HIPAA/Privacy Officer and Risk Manager.
