The medical coder certificate prepares you to become a valuable member of a health information service team. Coding professionals use a classification system to assign code numbers and letters to each symptom, diagnosis, disease, procedure, and operation that appears in a patient's chart. These codes are used for insurance reimbursement, research, health planning analysis, and to make clinical decisions. A high degree of accuracy and a working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology are important skills for these professionals.
Career opportunities include hospital inpatient/outpatient coding specialist, reimbursement specialist, coding abstracting or insurance claim analyst, managed-care coding specialist, procedural coding specialist, and physician’s office or clinical coding specialist.
HCC’s Medical Coder and Medical Office Billing programs (CCC.MEDCODE, CCC.OA.MED.BIL) are designed to prepare students for the AAPC Medical Billing and AAPC Medical Coding Certification. This is a national certification, academic requirements for this industry certification in other states may vary based on organization and/or employer. HCC has not yet determined the status of the industry and/or employer requirements in all states.
For more information:
- View the AAPC Exam Certification FAQs
- Contact the program’s Department Chair, Maggie Medina mmedina51@hccfl.edu
This curriculum is from the current college catalog and is meant to provide prospective students an example of courses taken in this degree/certificate. It is not intended to be used for graduation requirements. Students should consult an advisor for graduation information.
These courses are designed to prepare students for state certification in order to establish a career in the medical coding industry. Students are part of a cohort and should take the courses in the sequence listed below.
Medical Information: Medical Coder CCC - CCC.MED.CODE Update
Due to the program moving towards an accreditation process and will now have an application requirement to ensure that students are best prepared to successfully pass industry certification, students entering the final coding courses in 2026 must complete an application process beginning July 20, 2025..
New curriculum revisions start Spring 2026 to better prepare you for the workforce & certification.
- Application Deadline: August 18, 2025
- Selected students will be notified by October 1, 2025
- Applications submitted after August 18, may be considered only if space is available.
Questions? Contact A.S. Advisor Gabriela Kim for assistance.
CCC.MED.CODE (37 Credit Hours)
Program Required Courses
YEAR I – First Semester
HIM 1112C Electronic Health Records - 2 cr.
†HIM 1453 Anatomy and Physiology for Medical Coding or BSC 2085/2085L, Human Anatomy and Physiology I - 4 cr.
†HSC 1531 Medical Terminology - 3 cr.
YEAR I – Second Semester
†HIM 1000 Introduction to Health Information Management - 3 cr.
†HIM 1433 Principles of Disease - 4 cr.
†HIM 1442 Pharmacology - 2 cr.
†OST 2854C Office Applications for Business - 3 cr.
YEAR I – Third Semester
†HIM 2253 CPT Coding - 3 cr.
†HIM 2724 ICD-10 Coding - 3 cr.
†HIM 2275C Medical Billing and Insurance I - 3 cr.
YEAR II – First Semester
†HIM 2283 Advanced Coding - 3 cr.
HIM 2941 Clinical Coding Practicum - 3 cr.
Elective** - 1 cr.
**Select 1 credit hour from the following:
HIM 2960 Credentialing Exam Review - 1 cr.
OST 2943 Internship in Medical Office (up to 4 credits) - 1 cr.
†Courses symbolized with a dagger (†) are offered online in addition to the traditional delivery methods. Online availability may vary by academic term.
NOTE: Coursework applies to the Medical Office Administration AS degree.