Medical Coding Technical Certificate Program

The Medical Coding Program is a two-semester certificate program designed to prepare individuals to understand coding principles, guidelines, medical terminology and regulatory changes for coding. The program is designed to offer a wide variety of learning experiences including classroom lecture and computerized coding software.   

Numerous career opportunities exist in hospitals, physician offices, clinics, home health agencies and other healthcare settings. Graduates are eligible to take the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

Admission, Retention, and Graduation Requirements

Any student desiring to pursue a technical certificate in Medical Coding must:

1. All students admitted into the Medical Coding Technical Certificate program will meet the same criteria as established for any technical certificate program offered by Walters State Community College. Primary among these criteria is graduation from high school or a passing score on the GED assessment.
2. Indicate Medical Coding as the desired major on WSCC Application form.
3. Each student enrolled in the Medical Coding Technical Certificate program will be monitored, advised, and counseled. Students grades will be evaluated at the end of each semester by the director of the Medical Coding Technical Certificate  Program. A student must maintain the following standards or be dismissed from the program: (a) a grade of "C" or better in each course; (b) complete the designated prerequisite/corequisite courses.
4. Program graduation requirements include the successful completion of the courses listed below with a minimum grade of "C" in each course.
5. In addition, admission into an allied health program requires the following:  (a) a completed physical health form; (b) evidence of malpractice liability insurance; (c) a signed and dated acknowledgement of the Drug/Alcohol Abuse Policy and Consent forms.  The physical health form, malpractice insurance, and Tennessee Professional Assistance fee are at the student’s expense.
   

Frequently Asked Questions concerning the program:

• Pay ranges from $20,000 - $30,000 annually.

• Pay is better in larger cities such as Knoxville and Johnson City than in the more rural areas.

• Pay increases after student completes our program and sits for one of the coding credential exams with AHIMA, such as CCA (Certified Coding Associate) entry-level credential, or CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) or CCS-P (Certified Coding Specialist-Physician Based), which are advanced coding credentials.

• Medical Coding presently is not an at home job.  In order to code you have to access the patient’s medical record and patient records cannot be taken home.  As a paperless or electronic health record (EHR) is established coding will become an at home job because a coder will be able to access the patient’s medical record online.  We are still a few years away from this being the standard in the industry.

• Coding is assigning a numerical code number to each diagnosis and procedure performed.

Estimated Expenses

Textbooks	$700-800 per semester
Professional Liability Insurance	$42

Medical Coding Program Curriculum

Course No.	Course Title	Credit Hours
HITC 2010	Fundamentals of Health Information Management	3
MDTR 1010	Medical Terminology	5
MDCD 1010	Basic ICD-9-CM Coding	3
MDCD 1020	Basic CPT/HCPCS Coding	3
MDTR 1030	Fundamentals of Medical Science	3
MDCD 1030	Intermediate ICD-9-CM Coding	3
MDCD 1040	Advanced Coding for Reimbursement	3
	Total Credit Hours	23
Click here for a description of courses