PLEASE NOTE: This Courses and Programs Preview is not the final 2026-2027 Academic Catalog. The final Catalog will be published on July 1, 2026.
This certificate program prepares students for careers as clinical coders. Clinical coders are skilled in classifying medical data utilizing knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, disease processes, and pharmacology. Clinical coding is important to healthcare organizations because coding accuracy influences public health policy, impacts revenues, and drives the assessment of healthcare outcomes.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: A coding credential provides proof of competency in the field and is often a requirement for clinical coding-related and healthcare revenue management positions. Graduates of the Clinical Coding Certificate are eligible to sit for AHIMA coding certification exams including:
Students may also choose to seek additional coding certification through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).
PROGRAM APPROVAL STATEMENT
The CT State Middlesex Clinical Coding Certificate coding program is approved by the AHIMA Professional Certificate Approval Program. This designation acknowledges the coding program as having been evaluated by a peer review process against a national minimum set of standards for entry-level coding professionals. This process allows academic institutions to be acknowledged as offering an approved coding certificate program.
Value for Students
The AHIMA Professional Certificate Approval Program designation:
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Identifies specialized programs that meet established coding educational standards
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Stimulates improvement of educational standards through faculty development opportunities, and by involving faculty and staff in program evaluation and planning
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Promotes a better understanding of the goals of professional coding education
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Provides reasonable assurance that practitioners possess the necessary job skills upon entry into the profession Program approval effective January of 2024 - January of 2027 with annual interim approval during these years.
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Students who have already completed or transferred in credit for
BIO 2111 and
BIO 2112 have met the requirement.
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Students who have already completed or transferred in credit for
BIO 2111 may complete the requirement by taking
BIO 2112 .
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Students who need to take
BIO 2111 and
BIO 2112 should enroll in the
BIO 2111 prerequisite courses in their first semester.
Eligible for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding.
Certificate Learning Outcomes:
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Generate codes representing the procedures, services, and supplies provided and the reason for contact with healthcare services utilizing HIPAA approved code sets appropriate to the healthcare setting and conforming to all official coding guidelines.
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Show appropriate authoritative/governing sources to facilitate correct coding and adhere to AHIMA Standards of Ethical Coding.
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Employ technology in the coding process and management of the revenue cycle including use of the Electronic Health Record (EHR), encoding and grouping software, computer-assisted coding (CAC), natural language processing, and data analysis tools.
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Explain coding in medical scenarios including inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, and physician services (evaluation and management, surgery, and medicine).
All program courses are offered fully online, allowing students to access the program from anywhere. This program is eligible for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding.
The Clinical Coding program on the Middlesex
campus of CT State Community College is approved by AHIMA PCAP.