Twenty-eight students recently completed the six-month Medical Billing and Coding course. They were the first group to take the National Certification Exam through Coahoma Community College’s Workforce Development Center. The testing results showed that 100% of the students passed the exam and are now certified in Medical Billing and Coding.

After review of the curriculum, the National Healthcareer Association approved the Workforce Development Center’s program to become a certified testing site in May. Previously, students who completed the program had to travel to either Jackson or Atlanta to take the exam upon completion of the course. Instructor Bernadine Lattimore states, “I feel very proud that CCC was approved as a testing site, especially because it affords the opportunity to others in our surrounding area to have a site for testing without having to endure a long trip somewhere else.” Students in the CCC campus Medical Coding and Billing AA program will also be able to take the national test through the Workforce Development Center.

The medical billing and coding course is part of the Allied Health program, developed by Workforce Counselor Pariscene Wilson, at the Workforce Development Center. Other courses offered include pharmacy technician and medical unit secretary. Students who complete the course are trained to work as medical receptionists, able to bill medical claims in either a physician’s office or in a hospital setting, as well as doing medical coding. The program was started two years ago and three series of courses have been completed. Lattimore hopes that students will “retain the knowledge (from the class) and will be able to be placed in the healthcare field and continue to study and learn from hands-on training in healthcare facilities.”

The second session of the Medical Billing and Coding course started the first week in July and is full. For more information on the Allied Health courses at CCC’s Workforce Development Center or to be put on the waiting list for futures classes, contact Pariscene Wilson at 662-621-4308.