ADAM and AAPC Announce Dermatology Coding Certification

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), in conjunction with the Association of Dermatology Administrators Managers (ADAM), announce the release of the new AAPC Certified Professional Coder in Dermatology™ (CPCD™) credential. This specialty credential enables coders with superior knowledge of the dermatology field to receive certified validation.

Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) June 24, 2009 -- The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC, www.aapc.com), in conjunction with the Association of Dermatology Administrators Managers (ADAM, www.ada-m.org), announced Wednesday the release of the new AAPC Certified Professional Coder in Dermatology™ (CPCD™) credential. This specialty credential enables coders with superior knowledge of the dermatology field to receive certified validation.

A team of leading dermatology coding professionals within ADAM collaborated with the AAPC to develop and co-brand the CPCD™ exam.

According to the ADAM executive board, dermatology is one of the fastest growing forms of specialty care. The ADAM executive board strongly believes that this certification will enable its members and their staffs to enhance their professional skill sets and improve practice administration.

The CPCD™ exam includes a broad range of operative/patient notes to test examinees' preparedness for "real world" coding.

Elements that the CPCD™ examinee will be tested on include ability to read and abstract physician office and procedure notes, such as assigning correct ICD-9-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier codes; evaluation and management coding; Medicare billing rules and regulations; dermatological surgical procedures; medical terminology; and anatomy and physiology.

The AAPC has developed a CPCD™ practicum that closely resembles the certification exam in format and difficulty to complement the test and prepare coders to sit for the exam. The AAPC and ADAM have also developed a review course to complement the exam. The CPCD™ exam and review course will be available at the 2010 ADAM Annual Meeting Preconference on March 3, 2010 in Miami, Fla., as well as at future ADAM educational events. Please visit the ADAM Web site (www.ada-m.org) for more details.

For more information about the CPCD™ credential or for details on the AAPC's special pricing on the CPCD™ practicum and exam, visit the AAPC Web site at www.aapc.com.

About AAPC's Specialty Credentials

In addition to its core credentials (CPC®, CPC-H® and CPC-P®), the AAPC launched 18 updated, standalone specialty certifications in 2009. These 18 certifications allow health care professionals to demonstrate superior levels of expertise in selected disciplines. To ensure that the specialty-specific skills of the certified coders are communicated correctly, the specialty credentials will no longer contain the "CPC" acronym. While there are no set prerequisites to take the exams, because of the complexity of the material on the exam, it is recommended that the examinee have extensive experience and expertise in the field. Visit http://www.aapc.com/certification/specialty-credentials.aspx for more information on the AAPC's specialty credentials.

About the Association of Dermatology Administrators Managers

The Association of Dermatology Administrators Managers (ADAM) is a national organization comprised of 650 managers, administrators, attorneys, accountants and physicians in private, group and academic practice. Members are provided strong business guidance and support through links to information and leaders who have expertise in dermatology practice issues. ADAM's network includes specialists in the fields of continuing education, managed care and financial issues, credit and collection, jurisprudence and ethics, and coding. ADAM also sponsors its own job bank while enabling members easy access to others as well. ADAM is a not-for-profit organization which advocates responsible and progressive business practices in a quality healthcare environment by providing education, professional recognition, growth and networking avenues to members. For more information, contact the Association at 1-888-480-3573 or www.ada-m.org.

About the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC, www.aapc.com)

The AAPC is the nation's largest medical coding training and certification association for medical coders. The AAPC provides credentials to medical coders in physician offices, outpatient facilities and payer environments. The certifications the AAPC offers are Certified Professional Coder (CPC®), Certified Professional Coder - Hospital (CPC-H®) and Certified Professional Coder - Payer (CPC-P®), as well as 18 specialty-specific credentials and the Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder® (CIRCC®) credential. These credentials represent the gold standard certifications for medical coding. AAPC provides a wide variety of benefits to its 78,000 members worldwide.

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