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| Do I have to have a medical background before taking Medical Coding courses? | |
No, but be prepared to intensively study medical terminology and anatomy and physiology. |
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| I'm not sure what Medical Coding is. Do you offer online introductory courses? | |
| Yes, we offer The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Medical Coding Boot Camp. |
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| Are there any prerequisites for the courses? | |
Yes, iIf you are new to this field, you should take the courses in the order suggested below in the recommended course sequence for Medical Coding. The recommended course sequence is as follows:
Electives for Medical Coding I (Students may select from the following online/ or class-room courses as elective:
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| What if I have taken prerequisite courses at another college? Or I have experience in the medical field? | |
If you’re interested in Medical Coding and have taken a course at another
college, you are encouraged to carefully check our course descriptions, and only take the courses you need to meet the recommended course prerequisites. |
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| May I take more than one online course at a time? | |
| Yes. However, we strongly recommend
that you start off by taking one course at a time if you are new to the
field or if this is your first time taking an online course. |
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| How much time do I need to take an online course? | |
| You have to have at least 6-10 hours per week to spend on each online
course. You’ll need the time to perform the required reading and
writing. In addition, you’ll need to allow time for completing assignments
and participating weekly in the Discussion Forum (if required). |
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| How much does the program cost? | |
REGISTRATION COST
Registration Total $179 Total Program Cost $644.11
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ADDITIONAL STUDENT FEES (estimated cost of books)
Total Student Fees $ 465.11 |
| How do I register for a traditional or online course? | |
Read the policy information and Continuing Education registration procedures. You must return your registration form and payment at least five business days before your course start date. If you return your required registration materials late, we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to process your request. More information about the online registration process, ordering textbooks, and logging into courses can be found in the online course registration section. |
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| If an agency (Vocational Rehabilitation, JOCCA, or WIA) is paying for my class and/or books, what do I need to register? | |
| You must provide a copy of the “authorization to pay” letter from the agency along with
your registration form. Registrations are not accepted if we do not have the letter of authorization. If you are receiving assistance for your books, you will also need an
“authorization to pay” letter to submit to the Durham Tech Bookstore. |
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| How long does it take to complete each online course? | |
| Each course is designed to last 8-16 weeks. Most courses have weekly assignments. Some courses may allow you to complete the course before this time; however, it is important to finish the course before the end of the last week of course. |
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| How do I access my online course? | |
Each online course description will contain a link to the following: registration information, textbook information, and your online course access instructions (and the information on how to figure out your user id and password). For more information on using Blackboard, take the Blackboard Tour and on using Sakai, take the Sakai Tour. |
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| When can I access my online course? | |
If we received your registration form and payment for your course at least five business days before the course starts, you will be added to your Blackboard course roster. You’ll be able to access your online course on the course start date. If you return your required registration materials late, we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to process your request; or there may be a delay in generating your Blackboard user name and password. Detailed logon steps can be found in the online course registration section, step 5. |
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| Is there a certain time of day or day of the week that I should sign on to participate in this online course? | |
| No, you can access the course any time of the day or day of the week,
during the duration of the course. Your instructor will provide information
concerning lecture, assignment, quiz or exam availability and deadlines.
Students are strongly recommended to follow the weekly modules as suggested
by the instructor at the beginning of the course. |
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| What if I have a question or concern about the online course? | |
| If you have a question about the course content, please email your instructor.
If you have a technical issue or medical coding course specific concern, please feel
free to email ceonline@durhamtech.edu. |
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| Are there any textbooks or CD's required for these courses? | |
| Each course has different requirements. Some courses require the purchase
of a CD and other courses require the purchase of a textbook, online access code, or a coding manual. On average, the textbooks and cds cost between $50-100 (usually each course has at least one required textbook or cd). Online access codes usually cost $35-45. The coding manuals cost $80-100 (each of the two Medical Coding courses requires a coding manual). View the list of Medical Coding textbooks. |
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| How do you find out what CD’s or textbooks to buy, and where from? | |
| Each online course description will contain a link to the following: registration information, textbook information, and your online course access information. But if you register less than 2 weeks before the start of the online courses, there could be a delay in purchasing your CD, textbook, coding manual or online access code. |
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| Can I buy used textbooks/cd's or coding manuals for my courses? | |
Each semester the publisher issues an online access code (NOT a CD) that can be bought with the required textbook for these courses:
You have three options:
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| Do I have to take all six courses recommended for Medical Coding? | |
| No. You may take any course by itself. |
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| Does completing Medical Coding courses certify me as a Certified Professional Coder? | |
No. If you are inexperienced in the medical field, you can sit for the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) AHIMA exam. In order to become a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), you must sit for the CPC exam and successfully pass it; or you can sit for the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) AHIMA exam or the CCS-P (Physican-based) AHIMA exam and successfully pass it. While these courses are designed to prepare you for the exam, you may need additional work experience or education to be fully prepared for the exam. Each student comes from a different background and has a different level of experience. Your readiness for the exam will depend on a variety of factors. You may learn more about becoming a CPC or CCA/CCS/CCS-P and about testing dates and locations by visiting the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC- www.aapc.com ) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA www.www.ahima.org.) |
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| How does distance learning differ from a traditional course room environment? | |
| When you are in a traditional course room, you have face-to-face interaction
with the instructor and other students. If you have a question, you have
the ability to have it answered immediately. However, in a virtual environment,
you will have to utilize email to communicate with your instructor. What
makes a good distance learner? A student who is highly motivated and can
work independently will do well in an online course. Online students must
be "proficient" computer users (particularly in word processing,
email, and web browser functions). |
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| Are these online courses self-study, mentored by instructors, or instructor led? | |
These courses require strong instructor involvement, and are instructor led. Your instructors are experienced in the medical field, teaching, and online course development, and will post and grade discussion questions and answers, answer questions about your quizzes and exams, provide resources outside the course about the subject, and are available to ask questions about the medical field. Some courses require assignments that will be graded with instructor feedback provided; others require group assignments that your instructor will grade, still others provide virtual medical office assignments that will be graded. |
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| How do you know if you’ll succeed in an online courses? | |
Ask yourself the following questions:
If you answered "yes" to these questions, then you are well-suited
for Internet learning. |
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| Do I need to participate in an online course? What do I need to do? | |
Online learning is designed to be interactive both with the other
students in the course and with the instructor. Online courses use a
Discussion Forum to "have course." You don't have to be online
at the same time, but you will need to visit the Forum on a regular
basis several times each week. When you visit the Forum, you are expected
to read the postings of your course mates and post follow-ups to their
postings. The other way the course is interactive is through e-mail.
You will be receiving e-mail from your instructor and from your course mates.
Thus, it's very important that you check your e-mail on a daily basis
to see if there is any response needed on your part. |
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| What are the computer requirements for participating in online courses? | |
You must have easy access to a personal computer, either at home,
office, or school that has one of the latest versions of the Microsoft
Internet Explorer (6 or higher) or Firefox (2 or higher)
browser installed. If you use dial up service, a modem speed of 56K
or higher is strongly recommended. You will need an active email account
that you check regularly as well as a CD-ROM drive. |
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| Will Durham Tech continue to offer the online Medical Coding courses? | |
Yes, we have over 200 students taking our online Medical Coding courses each semester.
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