Thursday, August 18, 2011

USA Physicians Group Employees Featured on Special Courses Cover

University of South Alabama Physicians Group employees are featured on the cover of the latest USA Center for Continuing Education's Special Courses catalog. From left to right: Jeremy Kohn, charge audit specialist with HSF Reimbursement and Compliance; Barbara Cochrane, retired from USA Children's & Women's Hospital; Rita Mantell-Clanahan, charge audit specialist with HSF Reimbursement and Compliance; and Kim Cannon, assistant director of HSF Reimbursement and Compliance.

The group teaches medical billing and coding courses through USA's Center for Continuing Education.

According to Cannon, a medical billing and coding certificate is available through Special Courses for those interested in the medical records field. Cannon, who has been teaching special courses since 2000, said all of the classes are geared toward helping students become certified coders.

The medical billing and coding classes began as a result of an increase in demand for something that wasn't readily available. Employees within HSF Reimbursement and Compliance were responsible for bringing the curriculum to Mobile and starting the local chapter. Since then, the course has grown from one class to multiple classes that are split up by different types of coding.

"The classes not only develop your career, but they also expand the range of possibilities within the field," Cannon said. "My advice is to take the first class and see how you like it. You will know after the first class if it is something you want to explore further."

Cannon said that it is more important than ever to be a certified coder. "Learning to code properly is becoming more and more necessary, and there is much more demand for coders," she said. "The field has blossomed."

To view the entire schedule of courses, click here.