MEDICAL CODING
Certificate Program
(DCE - Boston, N. Attleboro, Online)

This Medical Coding Certifi cate program prepares students for challenging coding positions in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, insurance companies and other settings where diagnostic and procedural data are coded in ICD-9-CM and CPT for reimbursement purposes. Credits in this program are fully applicable to the Associate in Science degree in Health Information Technology program.

This is a 1-credit capstone course that requires students to demonstrate knowledge and application of coding principles, and provides exposure to automated encoding software and billing systems. Students locate an appropriate facility for their internship, at which time Fisher College will negotiate an Affiliation Agreement with the site. Students spend 30 hours at the site, coding inpatient and outpatient records, and acquiring hands-on experience. If a student cannot legitimately secure an affiliation site, they will complete a coding practicum that provides a comparable experience through cases, projects and software.

Program Requirements
CS101 Computer Applications* 3
EN101 English I 3
HT101 Introduction to Health Information Technology 3
HT211 Basic ICD-9-CM Coding 3
HT212 Basic CPT Coding 3
HT213 Advanced Medical Coding 3
HT251 Healthcare Reimbursement Methodologies 3
HT282 Supervised Coding Professional Practice 2
ME201 Medical Terminology 3
SC130 Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology 4
SC141 Introduction to the Study of Disease 3
SC220 Essentials of Pharmacology** 1
  Total Credits 34

*CS 123 or CS 125 may be substituted for CS 101 with approval of Program Director.
** SC 221, Introduction to Pharmacology, satisfies the Pharmacology requirement.
Minimum credits required for graduation--34.