• Who are the clinical coding academies?
• What are the goals of the academies?
• Do the changes in the SHA boundaries affect the academy project?
• I don't have an academy in my immediate area so can I access their training services?
• How is an academy funded?
• How can my organisation become an academy and join the scheme?
• My organisation has an NHS based trainer can I become an academy?
• What affect will the clinical coding academies have on the work of independent and NHS based clinical coding trainers?
• What are the prospective academies working on now?
• How will the academies be monitored?
• How will I know that the courses the academies create are of the right standard?
• Will the courses be developed by the academies be different?
• What role is the NHS IC taking in clinical coding education, training and development?

Who are the clinical coding academies?

Accredited Academies are:

• Cheshire and Merseyside Data Quality and Clinical Coding Team
• Health Informatics Service hosted by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust
• London Clinical Coding Training Service, NHS London, LPfIT for London Trusts

What are the goals of the academies?

These shift slightly as we listen to feedback and adapt to need. Ultimately the focus is on creating centres of excellence around clinical coding training and these will be 'badged' to show which organisations have gone through that process.

Do the changes in the SHA boundaries affect the academy project?

No, this should not affect the project however we have found the academy model works best with regionally-grouped organisations Currently these tend to follow the SHA boundaries, however we recognise that the CCAs are likely to appear where there is evidence that the demand for their services is required. Back to the top

I don't have an academy in my immediate area so can I access their training services?

Funding models vary from academy to academy and so some academies are looking to deliver where demand is and not just within their region. The academy model is very flexible.

How is an academy funded?

NHS CFH has provided some funding to support the Phase 1 work as there has been significant consultation and development. However, each prospective clinical coding academy is an independent organisation and the business model they adopt will suit the environment in which they operate. There is no ongoing central funding and the academies do need to have a self-sustaining business model.

How can my organisation become an academy and join the scheme?

We will be inviting expressions of interest to join the scheme in phases which will be advertised on this website. You can register your interest by emailing datastandards@nhs.net. Academies are not envisaged to have physical buildings but will be clusters of organisations.

My organisation has an NHS based trainer can I become an academy?

The very nature of the academy model means each academy needs to be able to supply training to more than one trust. The collaborative nature of the academy model and the overheads also suits a cluster of organisations sharing best practice, reducing costs and contributing resources. Consequently we do not envisage a sole organisation would be able to operate as an effective academy. However, we are already looking at how academies can support NHS-based trust trainers in their area and to link with an academy in your area may be the best approach.

What effect will the clinical coding academies have on the work of independent and NHS based clinical coding trainers?

The academies offer NHS organisations another route to core curriculum clinical coding training as the NCS only deliver Clinical Coding Trainer and Auditor training.  The academies are not intended as a replacement for any existing means of delivering training of national standard training materials. The academy project is simply expanding training provision to provide more choice, with the added benefit of the academies being able to develop training courses that respond more specifically to local need. With over 100 approved trainers available, in addition to the clinical coding academies, NHS organisations have access to a variety of clinical coding training to suit their requirement whether national standard materials or a revision workshop for the exam.  The Academies will however have their materials endorsed by the NHS Classifications Service.

What are the prospective academies working on now?

In addition to their schedule of delivering NCS national standard core curriculum training, the academies are currently collaborating on creating a refresher course for mental health clinical coding, a nephrology and urology specialty workshop and updating the SNOMED-CT awareness course for clinical coders. They have collaboratively developed a Neoplasms workshop which has been endorsed by the NCS.

How will the academies be monitored?

The NHS Classifications Service has an accreditation framework. Academies will be accredited to illustrate to anyone using their services that they meet the desired quality framework. New courses developed will be endorsed by NCS and there will be a route to report any concerns. If any failing in required standards is found the academy could lose their accreditation from the NCS.

How will I know that the courses the academies create are of the right standard?

Specialist academy-created course materials will be endorsed by NHS Classifications Service. The academy organisations themselves will be accredited according to a set number of principles. Consequently you can be assured that courses meet the required standard and are delivered by staff qualified at the appropriate level and who keep their skills up-to-date. We will verify any specialist courses and all those that have a heavy dependence on the national standards before they can be used. These courses will be clearly distinguished as being endorsed by NCS with content that meets the required national standard. The NCS will also continue to maintain a set of centrally authored national standard training materials (for example the foundation course).

Will the courses developed by the academies be different?

The overriding principle of the academies is one of collaboration and sharing of resource. Every effort will be taken to ensure version control of the courses across the academy sites as new courses are being developed jointly by the academies. We will also seek to ensure there is no duplication of effort to reduce the risk of any non-national standard courses being developed by individual academies with different content but similar titles. This will be managed through the Clinical Coding Academies Management Group.

What role is the NHS Information Centre taking in clinical coding education, training and development?

There is an oversight steering group helping to shape the work of the academies which includes the NHS IC; this group also includes members representing three professional organisations (IHRIM, PACC, ASSIST), as well as members from other trusts across England, Wales and Scotland. The steering group is looking at the wider education, training and development needs of clinical coders e.g. awareness of the secondary uses and whether it is able to respond to these through the clinical coding academy structure. We are developing these academies as a way forward to enhance the future training needs of those working daily in the field.