Hospital Coding Specialist Certificate

Skilled coding professionals are highly sought-after resources by hospitals, clinics, as well as by physician office practices, long-term care facilities, and organizations across the nation. Both experienced and entry-level coding professionals can expect to be in high demand as the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites health information technology as one of the 20 fastest growing occupations in the United States.

The health information management (HIM) field places you right where the expanding arena of healthcare meets the cutting edge of technology. As an HIM professional, you are the expert on patient data that doctors, nurses and other providers rely on to perform their jobs. By maintaining, collecting and analyzing health information, your work makes an important contribution to the delivery of quality care.

Coding specialists classify medical data from patient records, review patients’ records and assign numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure. To perform this task, they must possess expertise in the ICD-9-CM coding system and the surgery section within the CPT coding system. In addition, the Coding Specialist is knowledgeable of medical terminology, disease processes, and pharmacology, and is invaluable as a liaison among physicians, case managers, compliance professionals, Financial services, and hospital departments.

The Hospital Coding Specialist Certificate program is comprised of comprehensive education and to prepare qualified individuals to become Hospital Coding Professionals.

The purpose of the program is to provide classroom training for student with general coding knowledge, in order to prepare them for the possibility of a successful coding career in the acute and ambulatory care settings. It will also enhance the existing skills of individuals who are currently coding in the those care settings. Upon completion of the 39-credit hour program, students earn a professional certificate from UC San Diego Extension. This program prepares participants for the CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) national exam.

• Certificate Application (pdf)