Medical Coding Diploma Program

Program Overview

This 25-credit diploma program prepares students for a career as a medical coder. The program includes courses in medical terminology, patient privacy, coding systems, ethics, and insurance claims processing. Graduates are prepared for industry certification exams and may pursue careers in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. The program is delivered online with a virtual services component for support and resources.

Program Outline

Outline:

• Program content: The 25-credit diploma program prepares students for a career as a medical coder.
• Program structure: The program is divided into 10 semesters.
• Course schedule: The program includes the following courses:
• HC 101 - Medical Terminology
• MC 120 - Patient Privacy
• MC 165 - Current Procedural Terminology Coding I
• MC 175 - International Classification of Diseases 10 CM Coding I
• MC 210 - Certification Review
• MC 280 - International Classification of Diseases 10 PCS
• MC 285 - Advanced Coding
• MO 185 - Ethics and Professionalism
• MO 205 - Insurance Claims, Processing and Adjudication
• SC 144 - Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
• Module descriptions:
• HC 101 - Medical Terminology:
This course introduces common medical terms through the analysis of word components.
• MC 120 - Patient Privacy: This course will introduce students to the foundational principles of patient privacy and security of personal health information.
• MC 165 - Current Procedural Terminology Coding I: Current Procedure Coding I (CPT) helps students determine all types of healthcare services, treatments, and procedures provided to patients for outpatient services in both the physician and facility setting.
• MC 175 - International Classification of Diseases 10 CM Coding I: Diagnosis Coding I is an introduction to the ICD-10-CM data set used for reporting diagnoses.
• MC 210 - Certification Review: Certification Review is a course in which the student will prepare for certification examinations.
• MC 280 - International Classification of Diseases 10 PCS: This procedure coding course introduces the student to a coding system used by hospitals for coding inpatient procedures.
• MC 285 - Advanced Coding: This course is an advanced coding course that will build upon existing CPT, ICD-10CM, ICD-10PCS, HCPCS and other medical coding knowledge.
• MO 185 - Ethics and Professionalism: This course is designed to introduce the student to important ethics as it pertains to the healthcare profession which includes controversial health care issues.

Teaching:

• Teaching methods: The program is delivered through a combination of online lectures, discussions, and assignments.
• Faculty: The program is taught by experienced faculty with a background in medical coding.
• Unique approaches: The program includes a virtual services component, which provides students with access to academic advising, tutoring, support services, technical support, and library services.

Careers:

• Potential career paths: Graduates of the program may pursue careers as medical coders in hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, or other healthcare facilities.
• Opportunities: The program prepares students for two top industry certification exams:
• Certified Professional Coder (CPC) from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
• Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
• Outcomes: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, national job openings for medical records technicians should grow by over 9% over the 2022-2032 period.