Practice Management Institute and Southwestern Michigan College Launch ICD-10 Training Classes and Coding Certification for Medical Office Professionals

Online, March 5, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Practice Management Institute® (PMI) today announced a new training partnership with the Southwestern Michigan College (SMC), to provide medical office training and credentialing opportunities for medical office professionals in the area.

The spring classes will focus on medical office coding, especially the new ICD-10 coding system. ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases, which are the diagnoses codes used to bill for services rendered for all health care procedures. All health care entities must complete the conversion from the ICD-9 system to new ICD-10 codes by October 1.

Classes, taught by Jan Hailey, CMC, CMCO, CMIS, CMOM, will help physicians and their staffs improve reimbursement processes leading to a higher rate of paid claims and compliance with federal guidelines. Hailey is Manager of Operations, Beacon Medical Group of Elkhart, and has received specialized training to teach these sessions on behalf of PMI.

The full-day ICD-10 Coding Workshop will be offered March 20 at SMC's Niles, MI campus. An intermediate-level ICD-10 course will be offered March 27 for those who have already received some training in the new coding system. Both ICD-10 classes have CME-approval. A Certified Medical Coder (CMC)® course will be offered beginning April 17.

"Southwestern Michigan College is helping to meet the needs of the ever-changing healthcare field for northern Indiana and southwest Michigan," said Stacy Horner, PhD, Dean of SMC's Niles Campus. "In addition to programs in the Nursing and Health Information Technology fields, SMC is partnering with PMI to bring up-to-date information about ICD-10 and new standards for the health field to the Michiana area. Southwestern Michigan College can offer many different types of training in and outside of the classroom for credit and not for credit."

The mission of SMC is to serve our community by providing affordable local access to high quality postsecondary career preparation and college education - including the total college life experience. Since joining the ranks of other prestigious Michigan colleges in 1964, SMC has continually expanded its curriculum and now offers more than 30 Associate degrees. Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, SMC is also a member of the American Association of Community Colleges. For more information on this series of classes beginning on March 20, contact Brent Brewer, Community Outreach Coordinator at 800-456-8675, ext. 5642.

PMI is the training, networking, and credentialing source for medical office professionals. For more than 30 years, physicians and their staff have looked to PMI to learn the skills to contribute to a more efficient, profitable, and compliant office. Classes are hosted in hundreds of the nation's leading hospitals, medical societies, and colleges. PMI awards certification by exam to accomplished medical office coding, reimbursement, compliance, and management professionals.