This program prepares students for employment as entry level medical coder/billers. This program includes the Health Technical Colleges Core, provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes and general employability skills. The content includes medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, coding systems, fundamentals of disease process including pharmacology, health care delivery systems, basics of medical records services, ethical and legal responsibilities, safety/security procedures and basic data processing.

This occupation has an average wage of $16.81 an hour, based on the Florida Occupational Employment and Wages for Polk County.

Industry Certifications

After successfully completing this program and having two or more years of work experience, students may take the Coding Specialist Certification Examination given by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and earn the title of Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or Certified Coding Specialist -- Physician-based (CCS-P); or a certification exam for coders with expertise in physician-based settings which leads to the title of Certified Professional Coder (CPC) or Certified Professional Coder Hospital (CPC-H).