Medical Coders review medical documentation, apply coding guidelines and assign codes using nationally recognized coding systems. Codes are used for the purposes of reimbursement, research statistics, and reporting.
The AAS degree option prepares students to work as professional and/or facility coders. Professional Coders report codes that represent the skills and knowledge of highly trained healthcare professionals while Facility or Hospital Coders report codes that represent resource utilization such as nurse time, the facility stay, medications and medical equipment. Graduates can expect to work in healthcare systems, outpatient surgical facilities, independent clinics, home health care agencies, insurance companies and auditing firms. Experienced coders may have the opportunity to work from home through their employer or work as independent contractors for coding companies.
Graduates are eligible to sit for the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) examination or the Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC) examination which are both sponsored through the AAPC. The curriculum in this program also meets the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) requirements to sit for their Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) examination.
Please see Academic Handbook for the Health & Human Services Programs for additional/adjusted rules, regulations and policies regarding your program.
Note: This degree is a Bring Your Own Laptop (BYOL) program, meaning you can purchase a laptop on your own or from the Southeast Tech Support Center.
