VGCC Medical Coding Program Offered In 2006 at South, Main Campuses and Online

A program to prepare students for one of the hottest job prospect fields in future years will be offered in 2006 by Vance-Granville Community College at two of its campuses and online.

The program, Medical Coding, teaches people to take written medical records and convert them into a numerical language to submit bills to insurance companies. As the nation’s population ages, more people will need medical care, and that increases the need for medical coders to process the increased number of claims.

Medical coders work in doctors’ offices, hospitals, clinics, insurance companies and all healthcare facilities that bill for medical services and supplies. Salaries range from $24,000 for non-certified coders without experience up to $40,000 for certified, experienced coders. The VGCC Medical Coding course will prepare graduates for the certification exam.

There are four classes required to complete the program – Medical Terminology I, Medical Terminology II, Medical Coding I and II, and Billing and Insurance – which must be taken in order. An optional certification exam prep class is offered upon completion of the four required classes.

Vance-Granville had one large group complete the Medical Coding program this year, and 75 percent of the graduates passed certification exams on their first try. Some chose not to take the certification exam.

The 2006 classes will mark the first time the program has been offered at South Campus in Granville County. South Campus classes will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, either from 9 a.m. to noon or from 6 to 9 p.m., beginning Jan. 17.

Main campus classes will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays at the same day and evening times, beginning in August 2006. Online versions of the program will begin in the spring and fall of 2006.

Orientation sessions will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 9 a.m. and at 6 p.m. in Room 122 at South Campus. VGCC personnel will provide complete information on the program and answer questions at those times. Students may also register for the first class in the program at that time.

For a complete package of information on the Medical Coding program, including all class dates, costs and prerequisites, call Cindy Jackson at (252) 738-3328, or call the South Campus at (919) 528-4737.