Sep. 29, 2009 (Business Wire) -- PHNS announced the graduation of its first class of medical coders that were selected from partnering colleges in the Chicago area. PHNS developed its innovative Coder Development Program for outpatient hospital coding in order to develop a source of new well-trained medical coders that can bridge the knowledge gap between student graduates and entry level coders.
The initial class consisted of Andrew Roth, Cheryl Jimenez, Janell Moore, Patricia Drew, Theresa Czepek and Stephanie Mills, who completed an intense 8-week coding education program developed by PHNS. All members of the class had graduated in June 2009 from an accredited, two-year HIM program at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. PHNS’ Coder Development Program selected its initial class of students from graduates of HIM programs at Morraine Valley, University of Illinois, Illinois State University and College of DuPage. All candidates were required to have a GPA of at least 3.5 out of 4.0. PHNS also partnered with DeVry University for use of its space to conduct the Coder Development Program, and DeVry has expressed interest in expanding its curriculum to offer PHNS’ Coder Development Program.
“The transition from the ICD-9-CM education to a coding position is a quantum leap. It takes practice and experience to move from rookie coder to experienced coder. Roughly, the time frame is about one year. However, PHNS’ training program put them light years ahead of a new grad. Their accuracy rates are good and they are already coding for PHNS’ clients,” said Kay Kostal, M.Ed, RHIT, CCS, PHNS’ Director of Coding Education.
Members of the graduating class were enthusiastic about their experience:
- “I have found so much to be grateful for in my experiences with the program, and would recommend it to anyone who is passionate about coding and does not know how to take the next step to make their dreams a reality.”
- “I am so thankful that PHNS initiated this bold project, recruiting new graduates of Health Information Management program and training them as coders.”
- “The PHNS Coder Development Program provides new graduates with an opportunity to prove themselves capable and of meeting their employers' high expectations.”
“PHNS’ coder development process is an excellent opportunity for students because it provides a wonderful bridge between academic study and clinical placement. This process demonstrates a ‘best practice’ that allows entry-level coders to join the ranks of seasoned coders in a reduced period with increased competency,” said Cheryl P. Jackson, MA, RHIA, CCS Professor and Coordinator, Health Information Technology, of the College of DuPage.
About PHNS: PHNS provides IT services for hospitals, other healthcare providers and businesses. PHNS’ IT services include application hosting, co-location and managed services; electronic off-site data back-up and data vaulting; business continuity solutions; disaster recovery services; and systems integration services. PHNS also provides comprehensive business process solutions for hospitals including admitting, HIM (including medical record management and storage, transcription, coding, release of information and electronic medical record services) and revenue cycle services. PHNS creates business-healthy hospitals by improving operations, enhancing technology and increasing cash on hand, which allows hospitals to focus on their core competency--patient care. PHNS has approximately 1,670 customers, including approximately 400 hospital IT and business process customers and approximately 1,270 IT customers. PHNS is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. See www.phns.com for additional information about PHNS.
