Medical Office Professions

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The Medical Office Professions program offerings are designed to respond to the ever-increasing need for well-trained, skilled personnel to fill positions in the allied healthcare industry as medical assistants and medical billers and coders. Today’s healthcare industry demands a higher level of thinking and performance skills. The medical office professions program offerings prepare students for careers as administrative or clinical medical assistants and medical billers and coders.

Program Awards

The Medical Office Professions programs are taught at the Higher Education Center in National City and offer these certificate and degree options:

Award	Location	Estimated Completion	Program Map
Associate in Science Degree: Career/Technical	National City	4 Semesters*	Plus all general education courses required for the AS degree.
Certificate of Achievement - Medical Assisting-Administrative	National City	3 Semesters*
Certificate of Achievement - Medical Assisting-Clinical	National City	3 Semesters*
Certificate of Achievement - Medical Assisting-Medical Insurance Billing and Coding	National City	2 Semesters*	Medical Assisting-Insurance Billing and Coding

*Full Semesters followed by a 162 hour clinical externship for all certificates and 216 hours of clinical externship for AS degree.

Common Careers

Career options are available for the medical office professions programs and include medical assistant-administrative or clinical, office clerk, medical secretary, medical transcriptionist, medical records clerk, medical records coder, medical records technician, registered records administrator, health insurance specialist, health information administrator, and medical office manager. Some careers require a certificate of achievement and most require an associate in science degree or higher degree.

The average annual salary in this field is $94,880 for occupations like Medical Secretary or Health Information Technologist.

Typical Duties of a Medical Assistant

Clinical Duties:

• Patient Care: Measuring vital signs (temperature, blood pressure), preparing patients for exams, and providing patient education on treatments and follow-up.  
• Taking patient history, complaints, and vital signs.
• Procedures: Assisting physicians during examinations, drawing blood, collecting other specimens, and conducting basic lab tests or procedures such as electrocardiograms (EKGs).  
• Wound Care: Cleaning and dressing wounds, and removing stitches as directed by a physician.  
• Medication Administration: Administering medications and injections, and sending prescription refill requests.  
• Assisting physicians with smalls surgical procedures.

Administrative Duties:

• Record Management: Recording patient medical histories, vital signs, and test results in medical records.  
• Scheduling and Communication: Scheduling appointments, confirming appointments with patients, and answering phones.  
• Billing and Insurance: Handling billing, processing payments, and completing insurance forms.  
• Inventory and Supplies: Maintaining medical and office supply inventories, ordering new supplies, and restocking exam rooms.  
• Facility Operations: Greeting patients, preparing and cleaning exam rooms, and sterilizing medical instruments. 

Typical Duties of a Medical Coder

Medical Billing Duties:

• Reviewing Patient Charts: Examining medical records, including diagnoses, treatments, and procedures performed by healthcare providers.  
• Assigning Codes: Translating the medical information from patient charts into universally recognized codes, such as ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes.
• Ensuring Accuracy: Verifying that codes are accurate and adhere to the latest coding guidelines and regulations. 
• Claim Submission: Preparing and submitting claims to insurance companies, government agencies, and other payers for payment.  
• Payment Tracking: Monitoring the status of payments and tracking outstanding accounts.  
• Denial Management: Resolving rejected or denied insurance claims by correcting errors and resubmitting them.  
• Patient Billing: Creating and sending invoices to patients for their portion of the bill.  
• Payment Plans: Working with patients to set up payment plans for outstanding balances. 

Supporting and Administrative Tasks:

• Insurance Verification: Confirming patient coverage and eligibility for services with insurance companies.  
• Communication: Interacting with healthcare providers to clarify diagnoses and procedures, as well as communicating with patients regarding billing issues.
• Record Maintenance: Maintaining accurate and up-to-date patient records and billing systems.  
• Adherence to Regulations: Ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations, including HIPAA, during all billing and coding processes.