• Inpatient Hospital Coder
• Outpatient Coder
• Insurance Claim Analyst
• Procedural Coder
• Reimbursement Specialist
• Coding Abstracting Analyst
• Managed Care Organization Coder
• Physician's Office/Clinic Coder

The Medical Coder Certificate is designed to provide a student with the skills necessary to transform medical diagnoses, procedures, and injuries into designated numerical codes. There are many demands for accurately coded data from the medical records in hospitals, physician's offices, as well as other healthcare institutions. Codes are provided on claim forms and on numerous medical record abstracts so third party payors and outside agencies may utilize this information. Coded data are also used internally by institutions for quality assurance activities, case-mix management, and other administrative and research activities. A medical coder is an individual who analyzes medical records and assigns codes to classify diagnoses and procedures to support the reimbursement system, to support assessment of clinical care, and to support medical research activity.

A medical record coder must have a thorough understanding of the content of the medical record as well as clinical knowledge including extensive training in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and clinical disease process.

A coder must adhere to ethical principles relating to quality, truth, and accuracy in work performance and productivity. The suggested courses are in agreement with guidelines set by the American Health Information Management Association.

These courses will apply toward the A.S. degree in Health Information Management.

NOTE: In order to enroll in any program course with a prerequisite, a grade of "C" or better must have been earned in all prerequisite courses. Students must earn grades of "C" or better in all courses required for the Medical Coder CT curriculum in order to graduate from the program.

New graduates from the Medical Coder Certificate program are advised to gain coding experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings before taking the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) examination and/or the Certified Coding Specialist—Physician-based (CCS-P) examination administered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).