Medical Coding

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School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety

CONTACT INFORMATION

Program information is available from the School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety office at (505) 224-4111 or Academic Advisement and Career Development (505) 224-4321 or from Program Director/Chair at (505) 224-3905.

cnm.edu/depts/hwps/progs

Program Description

The Medical Coding Certificate program provides students the opportunity to prepare for a future in the health care industry. Students will study anatomy and physiology, diseases, medical terminology, pharmacology and laboratory procedures, ICD-9-CM and CPT coding, reimbursement methodologies and the legal/ethical aspects of health information.

The Medical Coding program is designed for the working student. Many students are part time and carry 6–7 credit hours per term while continuing to work full time. The Health Information Technology (HIT) program courses are offered in the evening and on weekends. Some HIT courses are offered every other term or once a year based on demand.

Note: Courses in the Medical Coding program apply to the associate of applied science degree in Health Information Technology.

Special Requirements

An interview must be scheduled with the HIT program director during the student’s first term. At the time of admission into the program, BIO 1310 /BIO 1392  must have been taken within the last 10 years.

Career and Educational Opportunities

Individuals skilled in health information coding are employed as coders for hospitals, physicians’ offices, peer review organizations, health maintenance organizations, ambulatory care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, state or federal government, entrepreneurship, national coding companies or insurance companies. Coders who obtain the certificate in Medical Coding will have the ability to sit for the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) title offered through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Additional career information is available from the American Health Information Management Association at ahima.org.

Exit competencies (see Program Exit Competencies ) for this program of study are available at cnm.edu/exitcomp.

For the graduation policy refer to the Moving On  section, cnm.edu or the Students tab in my CNM.

Students should see an academic advisor to customize their educational plans. Students must meet prerequisites by placement scores or specific course work. Please see Course Descriptions for prerequisite(s) information.

See  Prerequisite Requirement Guide   for Accuplacer score equivalencies.

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