The foundation every credential sits on: anatomy you actually understand, terminology you do not have to guess at, and enough ICD-10-CM, CPT and HCPCS to code a straightforward chart end to end.
Almost every fresher who contacts us asks the same question in a slightly different way: is medical coding actually a career, or is it just data entry with a fancier name?
It is a career. It is also harder to enter than the advertising suggests, because employers are no longer hiring untrained graduates in the volume they did five years ago. What they hire now is a graduate who can read a chart, find the right code, and defend the choice from the guidelines.
BMCT is where that starts.
This is a foundation course and we are deliberate about that. It does not promise you a certification at the end, because a certification you were rushed into is worth very little. What it gives you is the thing every credential sits on: anatomy you actually understand, medical terminology you do not have to guess at, and enough fluency in ICD-10-CM, CPT and HCPCS to code a straightforward chart from beginning to end.
When you finish, you choose your direction with us — AMCT if you want more depth first, CPC if your target employers ask for it, CCS if you are aiming at hospital work. That conversation is much easier to have once you know what coding actually feels like.
You will not spend these weeks listening. From the second week you are working in the code books, every day.
Medical coding is the translation of a clinical encounter into standard codes that a payer can process. A doctor writes what happened; a coder converts it into ICD-10-CM for the diagnoses, CPT for the procedures and services, and HCPCS Level II for supplies, drugs and certain services. Those codes determine what the provider is paid, and they feed the data that runs healthcare reporting.
Because the codes drive money, they are governed by rules — official guidelines, payer policies, compliance obligations — and most of the skill in coding is applying those rules to documentation that is rarely as tidy as a textbook example.
BMCT teaches that rulebook from zero.
Is there a certification at the end? Not an external one, and that is intentional. BMCT gives you a Codeshift completion certificate and a competency assessment result. External credentials — AAPC's CPC and AHIMA's CCS — come next, from our dedicated programs, once you have a base worth examining. We will tell you which one fits your goals before you finish here.
By the end of this program you will be able to:
At Codeshift Healthcare Solutions, our BMCT (Basic Medical Coding Training) Program is designed to provide participants with a strong foundation in medical coding, healthcare terminology, anatomy, and coding guidelines, preparing them to begin their career in the medical coding industry.
BMCT does not prepare you for a specific external examination, because at foundation level that would mean rushing you into one. What it does is make you eligible — in knowledge and in confidence — for the two credential tracks that follow.
the depth step. Complex, multi-system charts, ICD-10-PCS and advanced CPT. Take this if you want to be genuinely good before you are certified.
the outpatient, physician-side credential most often named in Indian job listings. AAPC's standard exam format is 100 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours, open book, 70% to pass. Full details on our CPC Certification Training page.
the hospital-oriented credential covering inpatient and outpatient. 107 items in 4 hours, scaled passing score of 300. AHIMA requires coursework plus experience, or experience alone, to sit it — see our CCS Certification Program page for the eligibility routes.
if you want the credential and the highest-demand specialty in one sequence, this is the efficient route out of BMCT.
BMCT ends with a competency assessment: code a set of unseen outpatient charts end to end, scored against a model answer. You get your result, a written review of where you lost accuracy, and a recommendation for which track to take next.
| Course name | BMCT — Basic Medical Coding Training |
|---|---|
| Outcome | Medical coding foundation and competency assessment |
| Leads to | AMCT · CPC Certification Training · CCS Certification Program · Surgery Coding + CPC |
| Duration | 30 Days |
| Mode | Online & Classroom (Chennai) |
| Instructor | Dr. Indhumathi BDS, CCS |
| Languages | English / Tamil |
| Code books | ICD-10-CM, CPT — purchased separately, not included in the fee |
| Assessments | Daily practice, phase tests, final competency assessment |
| Chart practice | Included — straightforward outpatient records |
| Eligibility | Open to graduates; life-science or allied-health background preferred |
| Certificate | Codeshift course completion certificate |
| Placement support | Available after completion of a credential track |
| Post-course support | Lifetime guideline updates and career guidance |
That is more than most foundation courses give, and it is the reason our BMCT graduates do well in the credential programs afterwards. A coder who does not know what a cholecystectomy is cannot code one reliably, however good they are with an index.
You work in ICD-10-CM and CPT from the start, not the end, and you are in them every session from week two. Coding is an open-book profession and you should learn it that way.
You finish with a measured result and a specific recommendation for your next step — including, sometimes, the recommendation to take AMCT before attempting a credential. We would rather tell you that than sell you an exam prep course you will not pass.
Not an external one. You get a Codeshift completion certificate and a competency assessment result. External credentials — CPC or CCS — come from the dedicated programs that follow. This is deliberate: a foundation course that also rushes you into an exam does neither job well.
You can, and motivated graduates do. But if you have no medical background, the CPC program's surgery module will be brutal without the anatomy BMCT gives you. Talk to us and we will give you a straight assessment of which route fits.
Yes, more so than for any other course in the catalogue — this is the one designed to assume nothing. Expect to put in extra hours on the anatomy and terminology phase.
BMCT alone is usually not enough for the current market. Most employers want a credential or demonstrable specialty skill. Plan on BMCT plus a credential track. We will map the realistic timeline with you in counselling.
For the online batch, some students do. It is demanding. Discuss your schedule with us before enrolling.
No — the code books are not included in the BMCT fee. You will need current-year ICD-10-CM and CPT; we confirm the exact editions with you before your batch starts, and you work in them every session from week two.
BMCT assumes nothing and takes you to the point of coding a straightforward chart. AMCT assumes BMCT and takes you to complex, multi-system and multi-specialty work, including ICD-10-PCS. They are consecutive, not alternatives.
No. AAPC and AHIMA fees are paid directly to those organisations.
Same syllabus, same assessments. Classroom in Chennai; online live, not pre-recorded.
Guideline updates, CEU guidance, recertification reminders and alumni network access — indefinitely, at no additional charge.
Read what Codeshift students have written about their training on Google, or watch our classes on YouTube.
Every course has a defined next step. Here is where you are, and what comes next.
Tell us your background and where you want to work. We will give you a straight assessment of which course fits — even when the answer is a different one.