NYC Health + Hospitals Offers New Training Program to Improve Medical Coding
Partnership with CUNY School of Professional Studies offers professional development to coding workforce, builds capacity for revenue cycle, and creates a stronger health system
May 21, 2018
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced the launch of Coder Academy, a free training program for eligible health system employees to improve coding accuracy and help ensure reimbursement for services provided. The Coder Academy is offered as part of a collaboration with the City University of New York School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) and will offer up to 21 CUNY academic credits, with the majority of course instruction given online. A few in-person sessions and free, optional tutoring will be available on Saturdays for participants.
“Since joining NYC Health + Hospitals, I have been frank about our need to increase revenue. This work is critical to ensuring that our nurses, doctors, social workers, and other professionals can continue to provide life-saving care each day,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. “I strongly believe that investing in medical coding training will not only be financially beneficial but will help us better track patient procedures and ultimately lead to more cost-effective medical services for our patients.”
“We are pleased to collaborate with NYC Health + Hospitals in the Coder Academy program to improve the skills of health information management professionals,” said Ellen Karl, academic director of health information management programs at CUNY SPS. “Medical coding is an important piece of the health care revenue cycle, and AHIMA’s Certified Coding Specialist certification is the gold standard in the field.
The Coder Academy will offer three types of training. It will help inpatient medical coders to prepare for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Certified Coding Specialist certification. It will support emergency department coders who wish to increase their skill set to include inpatient coding. It will also benefit other coders in any setting and with any level of certification who may want a skills refresher. Ultimately, the enhanced coding skills will improve medical billing.
The training will require approximately 10-12 hours per week over the course of 12-15 weeks. NYC Health + Hospitals employees in any of the following coder titles are eligible to participate in this free, voluntary training program:
- Medical Records Specialist
- Associate Medical Record Specialist
- Supervising Medical Records Specialist
- Health Information Management Specialist Level 1
- Health Information Management Specialist Level 2
Applications are due by Tuesday, May 29, and courses begin in August.
OneCity Health, the NYC Health + Hospitals-sponsored Performing Provider System (PPS) under the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, is providing funding for the Coder Academy, in addition to operational and project management support. Courses will be offered to NYC Heath + Hospitals and PPS partners.
This press release was amended May 23, 2018, with the addition of information about OneCity Health funding for the Coder Academy.