Demand is soaring! Use your skills and technology to analyze documentation and correctly report patient diagnoses and procedures for healthcare reimbursement.
Accurately and efficiently code healthcare information as a Medical Coding Specialist
Learn to analyze documentation and correctly report patient diagnoses and procedures for healthcare reimbursement. Medical coders require knowledge of biomedical sciences, healthcare delivery, health information technology, and health record documentation.
Medical codes are used primarily for reimbursement purposes; however, medical codes are also used for public health, research, operational and organizational planning, and benchmarking purposes in healthcare.
In our Medical Coding class, you study:
- Basics of health records and technology, including how to read charts
- Medical terminology and pharmacology
- Human anatomy and physiology – the same class required by nursing programs
- Diagnostic and procedural coding in inpatient and outpatient settings
- Reimbursement methodology
- Legal and ethical issues in healthcare
You also learn why it’s important to understand national policy reform, including:
- HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
- Meaningful use
- Health information exchanges
- Consumer engagement
- Security regulations
Apply your knowledge of health information technology, healthcare delivery, and record documentation to your Medical Coding duties.
When you successfully complete the program, you are eligible for two credentialing examinations:
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC) offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) credentialing examination offered by AHIMA, the American Health Information Management Association
Connect with professors and industry experts
At JCCC, class sizes are limited for personalized attention. Professors ensure that resources evolve to stay on trend with the Medical Coding profession and help you attain real-world, marketable skills.
JCCC prepares you for the workplace.
- A résumé-building required internship puts in an office setting to apply what you learned.
- Career counseling and an active job board help you find a job.
- Free memberships to both the national Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the Greater Kansas City HIMSS chapter, giving you access to the industry’s most powerful resources with an immense network of industry professionals.
Should you decide to move on to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, your credits will transfer to the Healthcare Information Management program at The University of Kansas or Ottawa University’s clinical and nonclinical bachelor’s degree programs in Health Care Management, among others. See our transfer guides for details about other schools.
This could be your future
Job possibilities are numerous in hospital systems, clinics, provider practices, safety net providers and software vendors:
- Certified coding associate
- Certified coding specialist
- Certified professional coder
- Medical billing professional
- Billing specialist
- Insurance claims specialist
- Collections specialist
- Release of information specialist
- Patient registrar
Find employment projections and salary information at the Power BI Post Graduate Report.
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Contact info
Amanda Kraus, Chair
Phone: 913-469-8500, ext. 4020
Location: RC 348J
Email: aleitnak@jccc.edu
