AHIMA AWARDS CERTIFIED STATUS TO LOCAL RESIDENT

CHICAGO, September, 2000----The American Health Information Management Association is pleased to announce that BALDWIN resident VANESSA BEST was recently awarded the Certified Coding Specialist---Physician-based (CCS-P) credentials. CCS-P certification signifies that BEST passed a comprehensive exam designed to measure healthcare coding skills. Healthcare coding is the process by which diagnoses and treatments are converted into numerical values, which are used to determine the amount of payment for healthcare services. Healthcare coding also is the underpinning of effectiveness of patient care.

“CCS-P certification is the benchmark of competency in the area of healthcare coding in settings where physicians practice,” AHIMA president, Margaret Skurka, MS, RHIA, CCS said. “Those who have passed the certification exam have proven his or her physician-based coding expertise.”

A total of 174 individuals took the CCS-P examination in June of 2000. The test was administered on June 10, 2000. The names of the 122 CCS-P recipients will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of AHIMA, the national publication for healthcare coders and other health information management professionals.

AHIMA is the dynamic professional association that represents 40,000 specially educated HIM professionals who work throughout the healthcare industry. HIM professionals serve the healthcare industry and the public by managing, analyzing, and utilizing data vital for patient care- and making it accessible to healthcare providers when it is needed most.