Programs

Medical Billing & Coding

The Medical Billing and Coding program at Sanford-Brown College - Vienna (SBC) is designed to prepare students for careers in a variety of healthcare settings, including medical offices, hospitals, clinics and skilled-care facilities. The curriculum is structured to include didactic instruction in several areas, including, but not limited to, billing practices and systems, coding and reimbursement systems, data abstracting, health record maintenance, or healthcare computer applications. The final portion of curriculum includes a supervised clinical externship at a medical facility. At the completion of the program, graduates who have diligently attended class and their externship, studied, and practiced their skills should have the necessary skills to seek entry-level employment in the field of medical billing and coding.

Graduates of the Medical Billing and Coding program are encouraged to take certification examinations given by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC). These certification examinations are voluntary but obtaining these certifications may enhance employment opportunities. Graduates are eligible to take the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) examination offered by AHIMA and the Certified Professional Coder-Apprentice (CPC-Apprentice) examinations offered by AAPC upon graduation. Graduates may apply for the official CPC credential after completing at least two years of coding experience after graduation as defined by AAPC. Other exams offered by these agencies may require significant additional work experience and/or graduation from a program accredited by AHIMA. The Medical Billing and Coding program is not programmatically accredited and the program’s graduates are not eligible to apply for some other exams, specifically the RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator) and RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician) examinations offered by AHIMA. Registration and certification requirements for taking and passing these examinations are not controlled by SBC but by outside agencies and are subject to change by the agency without notice. Therefore, SBC cannot guarantee that graduates will be eligible to take certification exams at all or at any specific time, regardless of their eligibility status upon enrollment.