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Patient Access Specialist

ADDITIONAL NAVIGATION​

Patient Access Specialist/Medical Office Assistant

 
For more information on Gainful Employment please click the logo below:

 

 

9 Month Certificate

 

Contact Information

 

  • Joan Azure, Instructor
    jazure@tm.edu
    Allied Health Building

 

Overview



The Patient Access Specialist/Medical Office Assistant will efficiently and effectively fill the demands of the healthcare field that have dramatically increased with the expansion of health care coverage brought about by the Affordable Care Act and the Meaningful Use incentives brought about by the use of the Electronic Health Record.

 

Purpose



The Patient Access Specialist program prepares students to be trained as specialists who handle patient encounters, patient customer service questions and other registration duties within a health care organization. The Patient Access Certificate will provide the individual with entry level skills in patient registration/access duties. Students will begin with basic tasks such as answering the telephone, customer service skills, making appointments, canceling appointments, updating demographic information, verifying insurance coverage, and calculating co-payment.

 

Through classroom instruction and a simulated office program, students learn proper phone etiquette, how to schedule, cancel and modify patient appointments, how to verify third party coverage and calculate co- payments. The curriculum is based on a 9-month certificate – with the option of continuing on to the 2-year Medical Administrative Assistant degree.

Career Opportunities



Upon completion of the 9-month program, graduates may find employment opportunities with medical offices, hospital admitting departments, emergency rooms, and freestanding clinics as patient registration clerks, admission clerks and ward clerks.

Additional experience may provide opportunities as managers or supervisors, in Patient admissions, patient registration or patient accounts.

 

The median income for a Patient Account Assess Specialist in North Dakota is approximately $20,000 annually and had an expected growth of 13% in the next 7-10 years.

Admission

 

There are no special requirements for admission into these programs. Please refer to the TMCC Admission section for future students.

 

[TMCC Admission Information]

 

Suggested Sequence



BIOL115 Human Structure & Function I (4)
BOTE 107 Customer Service Strategies (3)
BOTE171 Medical Terminology (3)
HIT 176 Intro Health Information Technology (4)
HIT 178 Electronic Health Records (3)
HIT 182 Medical Language Applications (4)
HIT 270 Medical Office Simulation I (2)
HIT 274 Patient Access Certification (2)
HIT 277 Medical Office Procedures (3)
HIT 282 Medical Billing/Insurance (3)
HIT 290 Patient Access Internship (2)

 

Total Required Credits – 33