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Billing/Coding - a career for you
Deborah Jochems, Medical Billing/Coding instructor
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A Medical Billing/Coding specialist analyzes health care records and assigns codes to medical data. The codes classify diagnoses and procedures for use in medical research, reimbursement and health care planning. The Medical Billing/Coding program consists of 34 credit hours and can be completed in four semesters of full-time study and also allows for the flexibility for students who desire part-time study.
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Program Overview
The Medical Billing/Coding certificate program provides a curriculum combining intensive academics with clinical instruction to provide the graduate with the technical skills and ability to be an immediate asset to a wide range of health care providers and insurers. The curriculum provides the knowledge to accurately describe medical, surgical, and diagnostic services. Students learn to utilize descriptive terms and identify codes for reporting medical services and procedures performed by health care providers.
The curriculum is designed to prepare graduates for accomplishment of certification. Within this framework, the goal is to meet the learning needs of the student and to motivate and assist students to achieve their career goals.
Admission Information
Admission procedure to Cox College includes submitting an application for admission with the required $45 application fee, an official high school transcript or high school equivalency certificate (GED), and official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
To be eligible to be admitted into the Medical Billing/Coding program a candidate must:
1. complete admission procedure to Cox College
2. clear background check
3. negative drug screen
4. submit $125 application fee prior to enrolling in classes
Selection for admission
Students are considered for admission into the Medical Billing/Coding program based on prior academic performance and the order in which application was received. Once a student has been notified of an offer for admission into the Medical Billing/Coding certificate program, a $125 non-refundable admission deposit must be submitted prior to enrolling in classes. Students will be notified of admission offers in writing and informed to contact their academic advisor to register for classes.
Verification of the following must be provided by all Medical Billing/Coding students prior to the first day of class:
- negative drug screen
- clear criminal background check.
To successfully progress through the Medical Billing/Coding certificate program, students must demonstrate safe, responsible and professional conduct and meet the following academic standards:
Certificate requirements must be met within three years of admission into the Medical Billing/Coding certificate program.
A student who withdraws or does not achieve a grade of "C" or better in any co-requisite course will NOT be allowed to progress to the next Medical Billing/Coding course until the co-requisite requirement is successfully completed. If withdrawal of a co-requisite course occurs, withdrawal in the concurrent Medical Billing/Coding course will also be required. If progression in the Medical Billing/Coding program is interrupted for this or any reason, enrollment will be resumed only on a space-available basis.
Medical Billing/Coding certificate program requirements
Core curriculum: 17 credit hours
HSCC 100 Medical Terminology for Health Sciences
HSCC 101 Human Anatomy and Physiology for Health Sciences
HSCC 102 Human Disease Processes for Health Sciences
HSCC 103 Laboratory Medicine for Health Sciences
HSCC 104 Pharmacology for Health Sciences
HSCC 105 Introduction to Health Information Management\Ethics
HCSS 106 Surgical Procedures for HS
All above courses are on-line
Medical Billing/Coding courses: 17 credit hours
MDCO 101 Coding System I
MDCO 102 Coding System II
MDCO 103 CPT Procedural Coding
MDCO 104 Data Quality, Reimbursement & Insurance Billing On-Line
MDCO 105 Medical Billing/Coding Practium
For complete course descriptions please see the Cox College Catalog
Suggested full-time Medical Billing/Coding certificate program course of study
First Year - Semester 1
HSCC 100 Medical Terminology for Health Sciences 3
HSCC 101 Human Anatomy and Physiology for Health Sciences 3
HSCC 103 Laboratory Medicine for Health Sciences 2
HSCC 104 Pharmacology for Health Sciences 2
First Year - Semester 2
HSCC 102 Human Disease Processes for Health Sciences 2
HSCC 105 Introduction to Health Information Management 3
HSCC 106 Surgical Procedures 2
MDCO 101 Coding Systems I 3
Second Year - Semester 3
MDCO 102 Coding Systems II 3
MDCO 103 CPT Procedural Coding 3
MDCO 104 Data Quality, Insurance Billing & Reimbursement 2
Second Year - Semester 4
MDCO 105 Medical Coding Practicum 6
Upon completion of program of study the certificate recipient will be able to :
- Understand medical terminology, laboratory, anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology as it relates to body system and disease processes o
- Explain the purposes of diseases and operations classification and nomenclatures n c
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts and coding principles of ICD-9-CM and CPT and apply knowledge of disease process and health record documentation to accurately assign and/or verify the correct codes to specific diagnoses and procedures Identify correct sequence codeso
- Validate coding accuracy using clinical information found in the health record mp
- Understand reimbursement design concepts in examination and evaluation of third-party billing and/or payment letion of program of study the certificate recipient will be able to:
- Understand what coding accuracy is in relation to compliance with federal and regulatory requirements; and utilize and refer to various references in coding.
Medical Billing/Coding Career Opportunities
There is a nationwide demand for expert, experiences Medical Billing/Coding specialists. These health information specialists have a variety of employment options available. Medical Coding/Billing is a career in which you can work in the health information management department, the emergency department or other specialty areas in a hospital, physician's offices, insurance companies, long term care facilities, or specialty medical clinics.
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