Vance-Granville Community College will offer a class on medical coding at its South Campus for the first time in Spring Semester 2001. Linda Hall, program head for Office Systems, said there are so many medical clerical jobs in the Butner area and in Durham County that the class will be taught at the campus on N.C. 56 between Butner and Creedmoor as a convenience to those who wish to take it. The class will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, beginning on Jan. 10. OST 148 introduces computer coding as it applies to medical insurance and billing.
Emphasis is placed on accuracy in coding, preparation of forms and filing of claims.
Miriam Morgan of Durham, a VGCC Office Systems instructor who worked with medical coding at Duke University Hospital, teaches the class. She said there are a lot of medical secretaries and others in the medical field who do not have a medical background or training who would benefit from the class. OST 148 is taught in two tracks during the semester. In the first phase, students become familiar with the coding program, the steps of the billing cycle and the importance of accuracy. The second track covers the filing of claims and will help insurance and other health specialists upgrade their skills.