For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: July 10, 2024
Medical Coding and HIT graduates acing exams
Fennimore -
Students in the Medical Coding and Health Information Technology (HIT) programs at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College are excelling. The Medical Coding Specialist program is offered for one year and graduates earn a technical diploma. The HIT program traditionally follows the Medical Coding program, for a total of two years, with graduates earning an associate degree.
Medical Coding graduates can take the CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) and CPC (Certified Professional Coder) exams. In addition, HIT graduates are eligible to take the RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician) exam. Overall, students have passed the RHIT exam at an 82-percent rate since the program was implemented in 2017. That rate has jumped to 100 percent the last two years. “Getting the RHIT opens so many more doors,” said Jennifer Lame, academic lead/Medical Coding Specialist instructor.
“We design our curriculum around supporting the students,” said Lame, “We are strong proponents of universal design in our programs. In an online format you have to have different types of learning activities to reach all the learners. We all don’t learn the same. We try to engulf our students in the materials.”
Year one for both programs is the same and students can finish the Medical Coding Specialist technical diploma and get a job in the medical coding field while still continuing into year two and the HIT degree.
Both programs are offered online, with a 60-hour professional practicum experience for HIT students. Those hours are spent in a facility near the student. “Usually, hospitals are very willing to host students in their area,” said Lame.
The Southwest Tech programs are offered without out-of-state tuition. There is a small student-to-faculty ratio, with two full-time program faculty teaching the majority of the program courses. In addition, there are two dedicated tutors, who are working medical coders, that have availability to meet students one-on-one online to help, as needed.
There are also certification review study groups to help program graduates prepare for their certification exam.
Many classes have recorded lectures that allow students flexibility of when to watch them and students have flexibility to access the courses during times that fit their schedules. Each course has weekly requirements, but the day or time a student participates is flexible.
Lame explained there is a need for more medical coders and HIT professionals in the field.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for medical coding specialists is $48,780, while health information technologists and medical registrars earn an average salary of $62,990.
“I hear from some of our graduates and they are so happy and thankful to be in the profession,” said Lame.
• More information can be found at swtc.edu/HIT and swtc.edu/medicalcoding.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |