About the course
The Minimum Hospital Data (MZG) is a registration system through which all non-psychiatric hospitals in Belgium make their (anonymised) administrative, medical and nursing data available to the FPS Public Health. The medical data must be coded in ICD-10-BE.
This basic course, spread over 11 Thursdays, aims to provide novice coders with a solid foundation based on the Belgian ICD-10-BE Manual, the classification guidelines, the international guidelines, the MZG guidelines and the personal expertise of the AHIMA-certified instructors.
Terms and conditions
The Starter Class is open to anyone with or without experience in medical coding.
The course forms a whole and it is recommended that you follow the entire course. This is the best preparation for the exam and offers the best chance of obtaining a certificate.
However, it is also possible to register as a coding team, in which case not all lessons are taken by one employee, but the lessons are divided among several colleagues.
In this way, up to ten colleagues from one team can take a day's lessons in this series.
Anyone who has attended at least one lesson will have the opportunity to take the examination and obtain the certificate. However, self-study will be necessary for the lessons that were not attended.
Modules
The starter class consists of ten full days of lessons and an exam.
The 2026 series of lessons will start in September.
The exact dates have not yet been set, but classes are usually taught every two weeks on Tuesdays.
The exam is scheduled for February 2027.
Day 1
Tuesday 15 Sept 26
Dr. Christophe Fierens
Structure and logic of classification
ICD-10-BE
Day 4
Tuesday 27 Oct 26
Dr. Karen Pien
Urogenital system,
intoxications and complications
Day 2
Tuesday 29 Sept 26
Dr. Karen Pien
Gastrointestinal system and APR-DRG
Day 5
Tuesday 10 Nov 26
Dr. Peter Heirman
Mental disorders, nervous system and senses
Day 3
Tuesday 13 Oct 26
Dr. Karen Merlevede
Z codes, symptoms, injuries and burns
Day 6
Tuesday 24 Nov 26
Dr. Christophe Fierens
Endocrine, blood and neoplasms
Day 7
Tuesday 8 Dec 26
Lecturer: to be determined
Skin and musculoskeletal system
Day 8
Tuesday 5 Jan 27
Dr. Christophe Fierens
Infections and respiratory system
Day 9
Tuesday 19 Jan 27
Dr. Joke Buysschaert
Circulatory system
Day 10
Tuesday 2 February 26
Dr. Karen Pien
Pregnancy, childbirth
and abortion
Day 11
Tuesday 16 February 27
Examination
