Medical Coding Course: Qualification, Eligibility and Fees

It seems you are interested to know everything about Medical Coding. Your ask is justified since Medical Coding as a career prospect is experiencing a growing demand. Therefore, this article covering the Medical Coding course qualification, eligibility, and fees is just the right place to start.

But what is Medical Coding?

Interestingly, Medical Coding is in no way related to the coding done by IT programmers. Instead, Medical Coders transform the medical information of patients into universally standard alphanumeric codes. The information is gathered from physician notes, lap reports etc. every time the patient visits a healthcare facility.

This standardized information is then used by doctors for further treatment and diagnosis. Health insurance companies also use this information for verifying insurance claims by patients. Even governments refer to this coded information for drafting appropriate health policies.

In summary, Medical Coding is instrumental in offering a satisfactory experience to patients. This explains the burgeoning demand for Medical Coders. In India, Medical Coding is particularly witnessing growing popularity as the country ranks 10th in the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) in 2020–21 out of 46 destinations in the world.

So, let us now do a deep dive into the Medical Coding course to know all about its qualification, eligibility, and course fees.

To start with, just to be sure that the Medical Coding course is indeed the right choice for you, it is important to know what Medical Coders do.

Job Description of Medical Coders

Although Medical Coders are primarily responsible for applying standard codes to patients’ medical information, they do much more. Here’s a summary of their roles and responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements wrt to coding procedures and practices
• Conduct reviews and audits to ensure that all documentation is accurate
• Liaise with insurance companies to resolve claim disputes
• Collaborate with the billing department to ensure all billing disputes are timely settled
• Provide statistical data to other departments to aid research and analysis
• Support doctors and other healthcare professionals by providing necessary information regarding diagnosis, medical tests, and lab results

Medical Coders execute these responsibilities from:

• Private or public hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Healthcare centers
• Rehabilitation centers
• Insurance companies

If the above sounds interesting, let us now proceed to know about the Medical Coding course qualification.

Medical Coding Course Qualification

If you are interested to enrol on a Medical Coding course, you must possess a Graduate/Post Graduate degree in any discipline, scoring a minimum of 50% from any recognized University/Board. However, it is observed that those with a degree in the field of Life Sciences enjoy an edge over others.

While students from any discipline can pursue the Medical Coding course, it is important to note that there are some skills that Medical Coders must possess to excel in this career. Let’s examine the skills that form part of the Medical Coding course qualification.

As a Medical Coder, you will be working on various tools and applications to record and retrieve patient information with precision. Therefore, you must be computer literate. Specifically, proficiency with word processing and any spreadsheet software comes in handy along with a good typing speed. Your ease in working with computers also proves helpful when you have to acclimatize to a wide range of software applications because different healthcare facilities use different tools. In a nutshell, you must be able to adapt to changing technology.

Apart from the Medical Coding course qualification, there are some soft skills you must possess to become a successful Medical Coder. These are listed below:

• Communication skills to liaise effectively with doctors, billing department, and insurance companies
• Active listening skills to help patients when they raise concerns related to billing or insurance
• Problem-solving skills to amicably resolve billing and insurance disputes raised by patients
• Attention to detail while assigning codes to patient’s information and reviewing the same to ensure accuracy
• Work independently as well as collaboratively with other departments, doctors, and insurance companies, as and when needed

In synopsis, once you possess the education qualification and skillset listed above, you fulfil the eligibility criteria for enrolling in a Medical Coding course.

Now that you have the necessary information about the prerequisites for joining a Medical Coding course, let us come to the most important point — how much does it cost?

Medical Coding Course Fees

Just as for any other course, the Medical Coding course fees vary with the nature of the course and the training provider. For example, if you just opt for the training, the fees will be less than when you want a certificate at the end of the training course.

It is noted across the industry that the Medical Coding course fees in India for candidates who have AAPC (American Association of Professional Coders) membership averages between INR 30000/- to 40000/-. On the contrary, for non-AAPC membership candidates, the Medical Coding course fees range between INR 35000/- to 45000/-.

So, you now possess the basic information about the Medical Coding course qualification, eligibility criteria, and course fees. Next, you must be keen to know more about the courses. Before I take you through a quick tour of some of the top courses, it may be worth knowing the syllabus covered in the Medical Coding course.

As in the case of the Medical Coding course fees, the syllabus too varies from one institute to the other. However, they must all follow the basic guidelines and curriculum defined by the Commission of Accreditation for Health and Informatics and information management (CAHIIM), AAPC, or the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

Medical Coding Course Syllabus

Going by the guidelines, here’s an outline of the topics that the Medical Coding course commonly covers:

• Human Anatomy
• Physiology
• Pathology
• Anaesthesia
• Medical Coding Practices, Procedures, and Guidelines
• Heath Insurance Policies
• Medical Ethics

To help you master these topics, the courses are designed to provide you with experiential training in the form of case studies and real-life projects.

So, which are the top 10 institutes offering Medical Coding courses? Here goes the list:

• Henry Harvin Institute
• Medical Coding Training — Pune
• NIMC Medical Coding Training- Chennai
• Academy of Medical Coders- Noida
• Apex Medcom & Training Institute — Bengaluru
• Transcode Solutions- Hyderabad
• Resolve Medicode -Medical Coding Training Process
• Cardea Medical Coding Training Centre
• Joshi Medicode Technologies- Hyderabad
• Sigma Healthcare Academy

Looking at the list, the obvious question that comes to mind is what makes Henry Harvin top the list. Let’s examine some factors that contribute to the Medical Coding course from Henry Harvin getting ranked #1 by the Economic Times and News 18.

To be precise, in this course, you:

• Receive training from not just instructors but industry experts with 15+ years of work experience
• Earn 1 year Gold Membership that grants free access to their e-portal loaded with assignments, class recordings, tools, and techniques
• Gain access to 52+ Master class sessions to build your soft skills apart from the 90-hour interactive classroom sessions
• Develop industry exposure by working on real-life projects
• Build hands-on knowledge by practising internship assignments
• Participate in boot camps and hackathons to evaluate your knowledge and skills
• Earn the Course Completion Certification of Medical Coding Training
• Get assistance from trainers to crack job interviews
• Enjoy 100% placement assistance to launch your career as a successful Medical Coder

The above factors prove, beyond doubt, the advantage of enrolling in the Medical Coding course from Henry Harvin.

Wrapping Up

You now have a fair understanding of the Medical Coding course — the required qualifications, eligibility criteria, and fee structure. You also have an overview of the course offerings from Henry Harvin, one of the leaders in the EdTech industry. With the surging demand for Medical Coders needed to address the spiralling number of medical tourists arriving in India, the time is right for you.

Hence, use the information provided in this article to make up your mind and join the Medical Coding course. Once you are trained and certified, go ahead and leverage the flourishing job market in the healthcare sector. Then there’s no looking back in launching a successful career as a Medical Coder.