NEW 2023 DERMATOLOGY CODING COURSE
Our program, the Certified Dermatology Coder (CDC), is ideal for coders, providers, and those new to the world of billing and coding. It will guide you through the complexities of dermatology billing and coding, helping you maximize profits and improve your practice's cash flow. You'll learn the intricacies of claims processing, coding guidelines, medical documentation review and auditing, HCPS, CPT, ICD-10-CM coding and more.
Designed to prepare billers and coders for real-world coding situations in a growing industry, our program is designed to maximize your learning potential, helping you master all aspects of billing to increase payments and reduce denials. Over 4,000 students have already received this valuable certification, which is nationally recognized and comprehensive.
Our modules include our best-selling reference manual, The Complete Coder for Dermatology, and video tutorials taught by Inga Ellzey, RHIA, MPA, CDC or her guest speakers. The program is self-paced and completely online, with immediate results.
In this program, you'll learn:
- The difference between simple and complicated I&Ds
- Incident-to billing guidance
- Identifying over and under coding of E/M services
- Mastering modifier madness and CCI bundles
- The 2023 E/M guideline update
- The 2023 Telehealth Updates
- The latest COVID guidelines.
With this unique certification, your skills as a Certified Dermatology Coder can greatly benefit your practice. Start your journey to becoming a CDC today.
About the Course
Proper, adequate coding and documentation has become increasingly more important in modern-day medicine, especially with the prevalence of Electronic Health Records (EHR). Many EHR systems automatically determine the level of service and procedure codes based on physician documentation. That’s why knowing the various guidelines to billing and coding are more important now than ever before. You could be over-coding and opening yourself up to an audit or under-coding and losing out on reimbursement potential.
There is no coding experience needed to begin taking this 100% dermatology-specific course. Our CDC™ certification is nationally recognized and is a complete education program encompassing the multi-facets of dermatology coding, billing, documentation and reimbursement. This course was created by coding expert Inga Ellzey, RHIA, MPA, CDC. It is perfect for the new employee, as part of ongoing compliance education and training program, or for retraining existing staff into a new position. Over 3,500 graduates including providers, office managers, administrators, supervisors, and billing staff have completed the course over the past 22 years.
This self-study, self-paced course is the first national certification designed to educate and test individuals involved in claims processing and billing for dermatology. The course teaches students how to correctly and accurately code for dermatologic services. It is designed to prepare billers and coders for real-word coding situations in a growing industry. It will teach basic knowledge of common practices in dermatology coding and billing, and intermediate concepts on maximizing revenue and reimbursement.
Whether you’re a seasoned coder, provider, or completely new to the billing and coding world, our certification program will guide you through those nuances associated with dermatology billing and coding. We will teach you the ins and outs of claims processing, coding guidelines, E/M guidelines, reviewing and auditing medical documentation, and so much more. You’ll increase your value and hiring potential, allowing you to master all aspects of billing to increase payments and reduce denials!
Our course is broken down into 11 modules that “build” upon each other and allow students to gain confidence in their coding knowledge. We start with an introduction to dermatology by reviewing skin conditions, skin disease, procedures, and progress through the various levels of billing, modifier use, specialty services and yes, even ICD-10. The course modules are broken down as follows:
- Introduction to Dermatology Billing
- ICD-10-CM Coding for Dermatology
- Credentialing & Billing New Providers
- Modifiers
- E/M Services
- Dermatology Surgery
- Repairs
- Minor Surgical Services
- Specialty Services
- Laboratory
- Supplies
How is the course administered?
The course is administered completely online and at the student’s own pace. You’ll download and study modules right out of our newly revised and updated Complete Coder for Dermatology. This manual will become your text book throughout your certification journey.
Videos are provided in several of the modules as supplemental information. Please note that the videos were previously recorded and are not updated yearly. The videos provide general guidelines, be aware that there have been several changes that will not be reflected in these videos. The module PDFs will provide you with the most updated and current information you will need to successfully pass the module test. Essentially you do not need to watch the videos to complete the course. We understand that student love Inga’s quirkiness and witty nature and enjoy watching them so we decided to keep them as part of the program.
Once the student feels that they have proficiently read and reviewed the module, they are then ready to take their online exam. Each module test contains a series of multiple choice and true or false questions. Many of the questions are clinical examples challenging the student as to how that particular visit’s services should be coded. Questions are completely randomized and no two tests are the same.
Completion Guidelines
Students are allotted one year from the date of purchase to complete the course.
This is the date the course is purchased, not the date that you decide to begin taking the course. This means that all submissions must be received prior to this date. No exceptions will be made in order to stay compliant with the national standards in certification. Should you not complete your course you will forfeit your course and it will be de-activated and voided. Should you want to take the course again, you will be required to re-purchase the course. Questions about your completion date should be directed to codingcourse@iepg.com.
About CDC Certification
Once you have successfully completed all 11 modules and the final exam, you are officially a Certified Dermatology Coder™. Your new CDC™ credentials can be placed after your name. Your certification is valid for two years from the date your final exam was successfully completed. Upon successful completion students will receive a course completion package which includes a framed certificate. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
About Inga Ellzey, RHIA, MPA, CDC
The woman, the myth, the legend.
Inga Ellzey is widely recognized as the nation’s foremost expert in dermatology coding, documentation and reimbursement. Inga Ellzey spent the last 31 years as an educator which included teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida. For ten years she served as a contracted speaker with Glaxo-Wellcome-Smith's dermatology division. During her tenure with this international pharmaceutical company, she addressed over 300 dermatology societies nationally with more than 14,000 providers and their staff attending these sessions. Her educational background includes a Master's Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Record Administration and national certification as a Registered Health Information Administrator.
Inga has always been known for her humor and wit making her a very sought-after lecturer. As CEO and founder of her national dermatology-specific billing services, her two companies currently service over 350 providers in 33 states. Collectively, these billing services process over $300 million dollars in insurance claims annually making hers one of the largest, single-specialty, non-hospital based billing companies in the nation.
Inga Ellzey Practice Group, Inc. in Casselberry, Florida, is the nation's foremost expert on dermatology coding, documentation, reimbursement, and medical billing. She has over forty years of experience in the field of dermatology, twenty of which were spent working with a private practicing dermatologist. Her educational background includes a Master's Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Record Administration and national certification as a Registered Health Information Administrator.