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INSIDE THE CODE THE CODING PROGRAM at Bryant & Stratton College is attuned to both the growing need for expanding a medical coder's expertise and the necessary flexibility in offering professional training. The school has campuses in Albany, Buffalo, Greece, Henrietta, Liverpool, Orchard Park and Syracuse, and offers several avenues for completing training, all tailored to the student's or professional's level of experience. The components of the coding program include: + Introduction to Medical Coding + AAPC Professional Medical Coding + Certified Coding Specialist Prep Course + Certified Professional Coder – Hospital Review Class A leader in health care training and certification, Bryant & Stratton College has the flexibility to bring instructors onsite to conduct a program that fits a business' needs. + Customer Service for Healthcare Providers + Ethics and Confidentiality Seminar + Medical Terminology and Essentials of Anatomy + Microsoft Office Productivity "When I got into coding in the late 1970s, coders were considered nothing more than secretaries. But over the past 35 years, coding has evolved. Coders are now the platform by which physicians get their reimbursement," Sassano says. "Even though it's all about patient care, if you can't get paid properly for the services you perform, you won't be able to open up the doors to see the patients and offer the great care that you offer." A Changing Environment When Bryant & Stratton College began developing its Certified Professional Coder program roughly 15 years ago, the mission was to assist those in medical practices with the additional knowledge needed to fully support their physician offices or hospitals. The courses offered education in anatomy and terminology at a step down from what one would see in a nursing curriculum. The student body consisted of profes- sionals with field experience as coders in the billing sector who lacked official certification from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). With the development of more complex payer systems and federal regulations, the tenured coders could utilize the course to tighten their skills. Once the initial students matriculated through the course, Bryant & Stratton College received substantial interest in extending the training to those who were just entering the field. As a result, the institution modified its curriculum All Bryant & Stratton College students enjoy a modern and professional facility at the school's Liverpool, NY, campus. It provides an environment that is very conducive to learning. to serve the entry-level population and act as a path to more advanced courses. A Range of Offerings Bryant & Stratton College's 101-style cod- ing class, Introduction to Medical Coding, provides training on coding symbols, the use of the tabular list provided in The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) to verify what is included and excluded under a specific code, the procedures a physician performs, and individual specialty-specific guidelines. Courses within the Certified Professional Coder program range in duration from three hours to 90 hours and seek to provide all-inclusive training on subjects ranging from computer proficiency and ICD-9-CM conventions to ICD-10 coding and guidelines for coding sequencing for entry-level coders, certified professional coders and certified coding specialists. The Customer Service for Healthcare Providers class focuses on strategies for creating a loyalty relationship with a practice's internal and external custom- ers, while the Certified Coding Specialist Prep Course offers in-depth preparation for the American Health Information Management Association's national certification examination. Today, the curriculum is as diverse as its student body and as comprehensive as possible — with upcoming developments including a Certified Practice Manager program — to ensure each coding graduate is ready to serve as the multifaceted professional the medical community requires coders to be. To learn more about the Certif ied Professional Coder prog ram, vi sit www.psctraining.com. ■ MDNEWS.COM ■ MD NEWS Central New York | 17