Health Information Technology/Medical Coding

Anoka Technical College offers two Health Information Technology (HIM) programs: an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Health Information Technology, and a diploma in Medical Coding.

Health Information Management (HIM) professionals organize and manage health information data to ensure quality, accuracy, accessibility and security in both paper and electronic systems. HIM professionals are an important connection between doctors, patients, insurance providers, and other health care professionals.

Degree
Medical Coding

The Anoka Technical College Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Health Information Technology (HIT) is a 60-credit program that prepares students for a career working in health care and settings where health information is utilized. A student graduating with an HIT degree is well prepared to assume an entry-level position in this professional field.

Successful graduates are prepared to demonstrate:

Essential professional and technical knowledge.
Skills and competencies fundamental to the health information management profession.
Effective written and oral communication skills.
Problem solving, teamwork and critical thinking skills.

Course Prerequisites

Some courses may require appropriate test score or completion of basic math, basic English and/or reading courses with a “C” or better.

Program Learning Outcomes

By completing this program, students will achieve the following learning outcomes.

Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to sit for the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to work in a hospital/healthcare setting beginning as an entry-level supervisor.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to sit for a number of coding credentials, such as the CCA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-H.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to work in a hospital, clinic, public health facility, insurance company, or related facility.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to deal with confidential patient information and work in the area of release of information.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to transfer to a four-year degree program in Health Information Management.
Successful completion of the degree will allow the student to further their career path by continuing their education in Tumor Registry.

Background Study

Minnesota law requires that any person who provides services that involve direct contact with patients and residents at a health care facility licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health have a background study conducted by the state. An individual who is disqualified from having direct contact with patients as a result of the background study, and whose disqualification is not set aside by the Commissioner of Health, will not be permitted to participate in a clinical placement in a Minnesota licensed health care facility. Anoka Technical College will withdraw any student who is disqualified by the Minnesota Department of Health. The student is responsible for requesting the commissioner to reconsider the disqualification.

Accreditations

The Health Information Technology degree program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Only graduates of a program accredited by CAHIM are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam.

Program Outcomes

Placement Rate: 87%
Graduate Satisfaction Rate: 100%
Employer Satisfaction Rate: 100%

(Program Outcomes for 2017)

Full-Time Sequence

FIRST YEAR
Fall Semester
HITM 1110	Medical Terminology in Health Information	3
HITM 1130	ICD-10-CM Coding	3
HITM 1221	Introduction to Health Information Management	3
HITM 1230	ICD-10-PCS Coding	3
INTS 1000	Critical Thinking Applications for College	3
TOTAL		15

Spring Semester
HITM 1120	HIT Practicum I	3
HITM 1240	CPT Coding	3
HITM 1244	Law and Ethics	2
HLTH 1000	Disease Conditions	2
HLTH 1005	Anatomy & Physiology	4
TOTAL		14

SECOND YEAR
Fall Semester
HITM 1200	Billing and Reimbursement	2
HITM 1260	Professional Practice for Coding Specialist	3
BIOL 1106	Introduction to Biology	4
Ged Ed/MnTC	See list below.	8
TOTAL		17

Spring Semester
HITM 1210	Supervision of Health Information	3
HITM 1325	Quality & Performance Improvement in Healthcare	3
HITM 2245	Health Care Statistics and Data Registries	3
HITM 2240	Computerized Health Information	3
HITM 2260	HIT Professional Practice Experience II	2
TOTAL		14

General Education/MnTC Requirements		15
Fifteen (15) general education credits of Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) are required. MnTC credits must be from three different goal areas. Student is required to take:
BIOL 1106	Principles of Biology	4
INTS 1000	Critical Thinking Applications for College	3
ENGL	Need at least three (3) credits from ENGL	3
Remaining five (5) general education/MnTC credits are to be taken from PSYC or SPCH		5

Graduation Requirements

All Anoka Technical College students seeking an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Health Information Technology must earn a grade of “C” or higher in every course in the program.

Transfer Opportunities

To see how this may transfer into other Anoka Technical College programs or into another college, please visit:

Industry Information

The health information management (HIM) professional is an important connection between doctors, patients, insurance providers and other health care professionals within the field. By maintaining, collecting and analyzing health information, the HIM professional makes an important behind the scenes contribution to the delivery of quality care. Besides working with cutting-edge technology, HIM professionals are experts in the field of patient health information and health records.

Health information technicians ensure the quality of health information by:

verifying health records completeness and accuracy and proper entry into computer systems.
utilizing computer applications to assemble and analyze patient data.
coding diagnoses and procedures for reimbursement and research.
compiling and maintaining registry data.
maintaining quality control of health records.
assuring patient privacy and data security.

Wage/Outlook/Advancement

The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its Occupational Outlook Handbook, projects that employment for health information technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average.

Credentialed health information technicians (RHITs) can look forward to many expanding career opportunities due to increasing patient privacy/data security legislation and computerization of health information.

Wage information is available from the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Faculty

Georgina Sampson
763-576-4042

Jody Sandberg
763-576-4066

Enrollment Services
763-576-7710

The Anoka Technical College Medical Coding Specialist diploma program is a 41-credit program that prepares students to assume an entry-level position as a medical coder in an acute care hospital, clinic or physician’s office health care setting.

Course Prerequisites

Some courses may require appropriate test score or completion of basic math, basic English and/or reading courses with a “C” or better.

Prerequisites

See Credits:

^[A]The prerequisite to ADSC1010 Keyboarding I is ADSC1003 Introduction to Keyboarding and Speedbuilding.
^[B]The prerequisite to ADSC1021 Keyboarding II is ADSC1010 Keyboarding I.

Some courses may require an Accuplacer/ACT score or completing basic math, basic English, and/or reading courses with a “C” or better.

Background Study

Minnesota law requires that any person who provides services that involve direct contact with patients and residents at a health care facility licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health have a background study conducted by the state. An individual who is disqualified from having direct contact with patients as a result of the background study, and whose disqualification is not set aside by the Commissioner of Health, will not be permitted to participate in a clinical placement in a Minnesota licensed health care facility. The college will withdraw any student who is disqualified by the Minnesota Department of Health. The student is responsible for requesting the commissioner to reconsider the disqualification.

Accrediatation/Certification

The Medical Coding Specialist diploma can prepare students to sit for the national certification examination to become a Certified Coding Associate (CCA) or the Certified Procedural Coding-Apprentice (CPC-A) credentials.

Program Outcomes

Placement Rate: 87%
Graduate Satisfaction Rate: 100%
Employer Satisfaction Rate: 100%

(Program Outcomes for 2017)

Full-Time Sequence

FIRST YEAR
Fall Semester
Course Number	Course Title	Credits
HITM 1110	Medical Terminology in Health Information	3
HITM 1130	ICD 10-CM Coding	3
HITM 1221	Introduction to Health Information Management	3
HITM 1230	ICD 10-PCS Coding	3
INTS 1000	Critical Thinking Applications for College	3
TOTAL		15

Spring Semester
HITM 1200	Billing and Reimbursement	2
HITM 1240	CPT Coding	3
HITM 1244	Law and Ethics	2
HLTH 1000	Disease Conditions	2
HLTH 1005	Anatomy and Physiology	4
TOTAL		13

SECOND YEAR
Fall Semester
ADSC 1003	Introduction to Keyboarding and Speedbuilding	2
HITM 1250	Advanced Coding	2
HITM 1260	Professional Practice for Coding Specialist	3
General Education/MnTC	Six (6) credits from two goal areas ENGL and SPCH	6
TOTAL		13

Graduation Requirements

All Anoka Technical College students seeking a diploma in Medical Coding Specialist must earn a grade of “C” or higher in every course in the program.

Transfer Opportunities

To see how this may transfer into other Anoka Technical College programs or into another college, please visit:

Industry Information

Graduates of the Medical Coding Specialist diploma program will:

Analyze medical record documentation in order to assign diagnostic and procedures codes.
Provide important information for the health care reimbursement process.
Assist in medical research and statistics.

Medical coding specialists analyze health record documentation in order to assign and/or ensure that valid codes are applied to medical diagnoses and procedures to facilitate reimbursement, analysis of patient outcomes and statistics. The coding specialist must have a thorough understanding of the content of the health record in order to be able to locate information to support or provide specificity for coding.

Therefore, coding specialists receive training in the anatomy and physiology of the human body and disease processes in order to understand the etiology, pathology, symptoms, signs, diagnostic studies, treatment modalities, and prognosis of diseases and procedures to be coded.

Wage/Outlook/Advancement

The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in its Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that employment for health information technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average.

Wage information is available from the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.