Medical Coding Technical Certificate

For more information, contact the Health Sciences division at 615-230-3330.

This technical certificate is designed to meet the needs of individuals currently working in health care or related fields who need to obtain or upgrade their coding skills for career advancement or certification.  A thorough knowledge and understanding of human anatomy and physiology are needed to pursue this certificate.  The Medical Coding Technical Certificate is fully integrated into the Volunteer State Community College Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Management for those students who wish to continue their studies.  Students obtaining the HIM degree after completing the Medical Coding Technical Certificate must update their coding knowledge prior to sitting for the national Registered Health Information Technology (RHIT) Exam. All courses in the Medical Coding Certificate apply toward the HIM degree requirements.  This is a three-semester certificate which only begins summer semester of each year.  Courses must be taken in sequence. 

The Medical Coding Technical Certificate is embedded within the Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Management and within the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science, General Studies areas of emphasis.  Courses in this certificate may be used to award these degrees.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the graduate will have developed the skills, knowledge and abilities to accomplish the following:

1. Describe health care organizations from the perspective of key stakeholders.  

2. Apply policies, regulations, and standards to the management of information.  

3. Identify policies and strategies to achieve data integrity.  

4. Determine compliance of health record content within the health organization. 

5. Explain the use of classification systems, clinical vocabularies, and nomenclatures. 

6. Apply privacy strategies to health information. 

7. Apply security strategies to health information.  

8. Identify compliance requirements throughout the health information life cycle.  

9. Describe the concepts of managing data. 

10. Determine diagnosis and procedure codes and groupings according to official guidelines. 

11. Evaluate revenue cycle processes. 

12. Evaluate compliance with regulatory requirements and reimbursement methodologies. 

13. Apply legal processes impacting health information. 

14. Demonstrate compliance with external forces. 

15. Identify the components of risk management related to health information management. 

16. Identify the impact of policy on health care. 

17. Demonstrate fundamental leadership skills. 

CIP Code: (31) 51.0707.00