VGCC offers Medical Coding program online and on-campus

Vance-Granville Community College will offer the Medical Coding certificate program in an online format and at its Franklin County campus starting in January. Medical Coding is a thirteen-month program that includes training in coding, billing, insurance, medical terminology, and preparing for a certification test.

Students wishing to take Medical Coding courses in a traditional classroom at the Franklin Campus must attend orientation and registration at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13, in Building 5, room 5119. Students who want to take the program online must attend orientation and registration at 6 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2008 in Building 7, room 7107 on the college’s main campus in Vance County.

Students will start off either program with a course in Medical Terminology. For students at Franklin Campus, that course will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Jan. 8 through May 1. Online students will take the Medical Terminology course Jan. 22 through May 8.

Medical coding is the process of taking written medical records and converting them into a numerical language in order to submit a bill for services or supplies to an insurance company for payment. VGCC’s program provides area residents with the necessary skills and understanding to allow them to seek entry-level coding positions in one of the nation’s fastest-growing occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The medical coding field is expected to grow much faster than the average occupation through the next decade.”

Students must have a high school diploma or GED to enter the program. The cost for the Medical Terminology class is a $60 registration fee plus the cost of a textbook.

For more information and to register for the Franklin Campus course, call (252) 738-3616 or the Franklin Campus at (919) 496-1567. For the online program, call (252) 738-3435 or (252) 738-3417.