Medical Information Technology A.A.S. - Health Information Coding Specialty

Michelle Boller, Director

Health information coders play a critical role in accurately identifying procedures and diagnoses to ensure accurate billing and reimbursement. Students are trained to:

Understand anatomy, medical terminology, and disease processes necessary to determine correct codes and sequences
Analyze health records and to accurately abstract and code procedures and diagnoses utilizing legal and regulatory standards
Communicate with physicians, healthcare facilities, insurance companies, and patients to ensure accurate and timely reimbursement

Graduates are adequately prepared for many roles, such as working in a front office with patients or behind the scenes with insurance companies and healthcare facilities. Upon graduation, students are encouraged and eligible to sit for AHIMA Certified Coding Associate (CCA) and Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or AAPC Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certification exams to increase their employment opportunities.

Associate of Applied Science - Medical Information Technology; Health Information Coding Concentration

Missoula College

Degree Specific Credits: 61

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0

Catalog Year: 2020-21

Note: See Program Director for scope and sequence advising. Please refer to online schedule for online course availability.

Summary

Core Courses		49
Coding Courses - Great Falls-MSU		12
Total Hours		61

Core Courses

Code	Title	Hours
Complete all of the following courses:
AHMS 108	Health Data Content & Struct	2
AHMS 144	Medical Terminology	3
AHMS 156	Medical Billing Fundamentals	3
AHMS 216	Pharmaceutical Products	3
AHMS 220	Medical Office Procedures	4
AHMS 252	Computerized Medical Billing	3
AHMS 270E	Medical Ethics	3
AHMS 298	Medical Info Internship	3
BIOH 108	Basic Anatomy	4
CAPP 154	MS Word	3
COMX 115S	Introduction to Interpersonal Communications	3
CSCI 172	Intro to Computer Modeling	3
HIT 265	Electronic Health Records	3
M 105	Contemporary Mathematics	3
or M 115	Probability and Linear Mathematics
PSYX 100S	Intro to Psychology	3
WRIT 101	College Writing I	3
Total Hours		49

Minimum Required Grade: C-

Coding Courses - Great Falls-MSU

Note: AHMS 160, 164, 212, and 213 are taken through Great Falls College-MSU. Students must also take AHMS 201 at Great Falls College-MSU in order to register for AHMS 160 and 164. See program director for coding course information.

Code	Title	Hours
Complete all of the following courses:
AHMS 160	Beginning Procedural Coding	3
AHMS 164	AHMS 164 Beginning Diagnosis Coding: ICD-10	3
AHMS 212	CPT Coding	3
AHMS 213	ICD-10 CODING	3
Total Hours		12

Minimum Required Grade: C-