HANCEVILLE – The Medical Coding and Health Information Technology programs at Wallace State Community College will hold informational meetings on Tuesday, May 22, for anyone interested in learning more about the program and career. A meeting will be held at 11 a.m. for the Medical Coding Certificate program and at noon for the Health Information Technology program. Individuals may attend one or both meetings, which will be held in room 404 of the Tom Bevill Health Education Building.
Wallace State’s Medical Coding program is a four-semester certificate program. It prepares students to become medical coding specialists who perform detailed review of medical records to identify diagnoses and operative procedures. The courses can be taken completely online.
The Health Information Technology (HIT) program is an associate degree program that can be completed in five to six semesters. It prepares students to become health information professionals who play a vital role in the healthcare system by performing the data collection and analysis that doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals need to do their jobs. It can be completed almost completely online.
The Medical Coding program can be used as a bridge to complete the HIT program.
Applications for each program are being accepted through June 1. Applicants for the Medical Coding program are required to have a reading test score that is current within three years of the June 1 deadline. The reading score must be 85 or greater on the ACCUPLACER reading section or 18 or higher for the ACT reading section. HIT applicants need a minimum ACT composite of 17 and a 2.5 GPA on all general required pre-HIT courses.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that median annual pay for Medical Records and Health Information Technicians nationwide as of May 2017 was $39,180 and that employment is projected to grow by 13 percent from 2016-2026.
For more information, visit www.wallacestate.edu or contact program director Donna Conn at 256-352-8325 or donna.conn@wallacestate.edu.
