Online colleges create educational software for medical coding and billing students

Online colleges create educational software for medical coding and billing students

As the demand for medical record and and health information technicians continues to grow, many campus-based and online schools are creating classroom-based and online college programs to prepare students for these lucrative positions.

Over the next eight years, career prospects for these professionals are expected to be excellent, and more than 35,000 new jobs will be created, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, individuals who wish to enter this field are typically required to earn an associates degree before they can launch a new career.

In an effort to help degree seekers in this field, Sanford-Brown and Colorado Technical University recently created a new software program that will be used to teach students the most up-to-date medical coding and billing practices.

The QuadraMed Quantim software will be available to students on the schools' 30 nationwide campus as well as those who are taking online courses. Users will have access to 11 reference books, which contain content from the American Hospital Association and other industry-related organizations.

Michael Schaefer, vice president of academic affairs for Sanford-Brown's parent company, Career Education Corporation, said that the software is intended to give students "a solid set of skills that will be applicable in the field...[and] an advantage when they enter the workforce.

By Stefanie Hughes