Frequently Asked Questions

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There is a multitude of exciting careers available in the healthcare industry that only require a high school diploma, such as , for example medical assistant, phlebotomist, medical records technician, and others. Learn educational requirements and pay scales of various disciplines!

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q&A

How Much Money Can I Make In Medical Insurance Billing and Coding?

In any job, wages are commeasurate with experience and can be higher or lower in different areas of the country. American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) states the average starting salary for Certified Medical Coders is approximately $35,000 per year--but that's average. An experienced coder, especially one who works independently can make as much as $45,000 in a year, or more, depending on location and extend of number of clients. A typical coding firm charges $16-$19 per outpatient report to code.

Experienced billing and coding professionals often set up a coding consulting business and earn additional income for seminars, coding review analyses for providers, and freelance consulting to payers. An independent consultant makes as much money as possible by investing their time and skills accordingly. The possibilities are boundless.

Medical Assistant Program (Diploma)

The Medical Assistant vocational training program usually is a nine-month certificate program that will prepare students for one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States. The students are introduced to medical terminology, anatomy and physiology and pharmacology. Students also practice medical machine transcription and computer data entry. Administrative medical assistant students are introduced to medical front office procedures such as typing, dataentry, medical coding and billing terminology and processing claims by hand and electronically.

Associates Degree in Occupational Studies in Office Administration - Medical Concentration

The Office Administration A.O.S. Degree Program in Medical is an 18-month program that combines the college-oriented experience of a liberal arts education with the executive level training in professional skills required for careers in a medical profession. The objectives of this Associate Degree program, like those of the school in general, are to maintain excellence in skills training; to prepare the students to meet the challenges of the competitive medical business world by providing an educational program of practical value enriched by broad liberal arts background; and to offer general education courses to foster critical thinking, communication skills and a sound value system.

The classroom experience is enhanced by an internship in the final quarter. This challenging program pairs time-honored training in essential business and professional skills with courses that incorporate current technology for managing a medical office by demonstrating how traditional tasks are accomplished through the actual automation of a medical office. Students are introduced to medical terminology and produce medical reports, such as history and physical examinations, radiology reports and discharge summaries. Students practice medical machine transcription and processing claims by hand and electronically. This program provides entry into he rewarding medical environment.

Associate Degree in Applied Science in Office Administration - Medical Specialization

The Office Administration Associate Degree Program Medical Specialization is an 18-month program that combines a liberal arts college curriculum with medical office training in professional skills required for administrative careers in the healthcare industry. Students in the medical office administration specialization will take courses providing them with a broad understanding of the field. These include: Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Third Party Billing and Medical Office Procedures. In addition, liberal arts classes in the humanities, social sciences, math and law fields will be offered to foster critical thinking, communication skills and a sound value system. A part-time internship will offer students the opportunity to experience on-the-job training in the medical field.

Executive Assistant Certificate Program

The Executive Assistant Program is a certificate program specially designed to prepare students for a career in business environment that will utilize the latest technology to enhance and grow its operations. In this program, students can develop skills to make decisions, to communicate effectively, to perform successfully as part of a team, to use business applications software to manipulate and integrate information and to solve information management problems. In addition, this program provides hands-on experience on the latest hardware and software found in the most modern of office settings.

In the Medical Specialization Program training essential business and professional skills are paired with courses that incorporate the latest technology for managing a medical office by demonstrating how traditional tasks are accomplished through the actual automation of a medical office. Students learn medical terminology and produce medical reports, such as history and physical examinations, radiology reports and discharge summaries. Students practice medical machine transcription and processing claims by hand and electronically. This program provides entry into the rewarding medical environment. Credits earned in the Executive Assistant Programs are transferable to the Office Administration Degree Program.

Medical Office Administration Degree Program

The Office Administration Program is a degree program that combines the college-oriented experience of a liberal arts education with the executive-level training in professional skills required for careers in business. The objectives of the program are to maintain excellence in skills training to prepare the student to meet the challenges of the competitive business world by providing an educational program of practical value enriched by a broad liberal arts background and to offer general education courses to foster critical thinking, communication skills and a sound value system.

Medical Executive Assistant Certificate Program

The Executive Assistant Program is a certificate program specially designed to prepare students for a career in business environment that will utilize the latest technology to enhance and grow its operations. In the Medical Specialization Program training in essential business and professional skills is paired with courses that incorporate the latest technology for managing a medical office, by demonstrating how traditional tasks are accomplished through the actual automation of a medical office. Students learn medical terminology and produce medical reports, such as history and physical examinations, radiology reports and discharge summaries. Students practice medical machine transcription and processing claims by hand and electronically. This program provides entry into the rewarding medical environment. Credits earned in the Executive Assistant Programs are transferable to the Office Administration Degree Program.

Bachelor of Science in Health Care Services

The BSHCS major is designed to integrate a foundation of general education and applied sciences with the expertise that prepares the graduate for management positions in healthcare. The BSHCS curriculum addresses the basic body of knowledge, understanding, skills and identified to be relevant to healthcare administration:

Structuring and positioning health organizations to achieve optimal performance

Financial management of health organizations under alternative financing mechanism

Leadership, interpersonal and communications skills in managing human resources and health professionals in diverse organizational environments

Managing information resources and collecting, analyzing and using business and health information in decision-making

Statistical, quantitative and economic analysis in decision making

Legal and ethical analysis applied to business and clinical decision making

Organizational and governmental health policy formulation, implementation and effect

Assessment and understanding of the health status of populations, determinants of health and illness and managing health risks and behaviors in diverse populations

The development, organization, financing, performance and change of health systems in diverse communities drawing broadly on the social and behavioral sciences

Business and health outcomes measurement, process/outcome relationships and methods for process improvement in health organizations

Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management

The MBA/HCM is designed to provide students with the business management skills needed to manage successfully in today's healthcare delivery systems. The MBA/HCM program emphasizes the identification, analysis and solution of complex management problems with a foundation of healthcare concepts and decision models that will support the variety of management roles that can be seen in today's healthcare environment. The MBA/HCM specialization is based upon courses in healthcare organizations, healthcare finance, quality and data base management, healthcare infrastructure and healthcare strategic management.

The MBA/HCM develops students for the role managers play in defining business problems, assessing information, considering alternatives and choosing the best solution. Imagine the manager as the hub of a wheel. From the hub radiate spokes, each representing a specific discipline, such as finance, law, marketing, operations, information systems, etc. Each of these "spokes" generates inputs for the manager to assess and incorporate into the decision-making process. The manager is a critical user of these inputs in making the decision. Although generally not the original producer of the information, the manager must be able to assess the validity and reliability of the information in building a business case for the decision.

To prepare students for the decision-making role, the MBA/HCM has been designed to introduce the theory or principles that frame a wide range of problems or issues in each of the courses. The most current techniques or tools are applied to these theories to allow students to practice making decisions to solve a wide range of problems.

The MBA/HCM consists of 46 credit hours. Thirty-one credit hours constitute the core curriculum and 15 additional credit hours complete the MBA/HCM. The core begins with one-credit, three-week, Managerial Communication course designed to build strategies for success in the MBA/HCM. It is a prerequisite to all the courses that follow.

The remainder of the core consists of 10, three-credit courses, which all student who receive an MBA/HCM from University of Phoenix must complete. Those students in the MBA/HCM will complete five additional prescribed courses to hone their skills in healthcare management.

Note: Students who enter the MBA/HCM program with an undergraduate degree that is not in business will be required to complete web-based material (introduced during the Managerial Communication course) covering the fields of Accounting, Finance, Statistics and Economics. These students must complete the web-based material and the included self-assessments for each course prior to taking the Accounting, Finance, Statistics and Economics courses in the core. The web-based material will familiarize the students with the terms and concepts covered in a foundational course in that subject. That foundational knowledge will be presumed by the faculty members who teach the core courses. The web-based material may also serve as a useful review for students who have studied these subjects as undergraduates, but would benefit from a refresher.