Program Contacts: QC Campus Betsey Morthland, 309-796-5285, morthlandb@bhc.edu
This certificate is offered only at the Quad-Cities Campus.
The Medical Billing Specialist Certificate is to prepare students for employment in the health care information management area. This certificate would enable the student to be employed by hospital billing departments, physicians’ offices, health care clinics, emergency care clinics, chiropractic offices, psychiatric clinics, health insurance companies, and HMO offices.
The Medical Billing Specialist will work in jobs that require the knowledge of insurance basics, insurance claims, specific health care insurance carrier’s expectations, strong data entry skills, team working experience with medical coders and medical transcriptionists and others on the health care team, medical terminology, law, liability and medical ethics when working in the healthcare information management area, internet medical billing opportunities, computer keyboarding with Windows, Medical Manager billing software, and the ability to communicate effectively – both oral and written- with carriers and their representatives and patients.
To deliver these special skills in this program, this curriculum provides both classroom instruction and hands-on experience in the form of an internship.
Primarily, the job would include accounts receivable work, posting receipts, verifying and precertifying insurance, follow up on insurance claims, customer service, medical bill review, handling all assigned claims to conclusion, working with insureds and doctors to arrange settlement, computer work on windows-based programs including Medical Manager software, and collections.
Many physicians’ offices would require that the Medical Billing Specialist have some crossover duties required with the receptionist or medical secretary – accepting the duties of scheduling appointments, answering phones, picking up customer information from the hospital, coordination of in-patient and out-patient coding activities, solving and correcting errors in billing, and physician scheduling.
BE 100 Work Environment Orientation
This course is intended to introduce the facts, skills, strengths, and career goals necessary for success in the business education curricula.
2 credit hours: 2 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
BE 110 Data Entry Applications
Designed to teach data entry skills, to help the student develop dexterity and accuracy in keyboarding alphabetic and alphanumeric characters, and to help the student become familiar with common data entry procedures, including voice input.
2 credit hours: 2 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
BE 141 Computerized Keyboarding I
Keyboard mastery and document formatting using a current word processing software package.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
BE 180 Business Communications
Prerequisite: See assessment and placement guide.
Techniques of effective written communications for business. This will include psychology of communicating with customer service emphasis, focus on international communications, and accuracy and conciseness needed for in-house e-mail.
4 credit hours: 4 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
BIOL 150 Medical Terminology Prerequisite: 83 or above on COMPASS reading test or REA 098 “C” or better.
This course presents the principles of medical word construction through identification of root words, prefixes, suffices, combining forms, and methods of building medical terms. Emphasis is placed on correct medical word spelling, pronunciation, and definition, while introducing terminology specific to various body systems. The course is intended to prepare students to classify medical information for use in medical coding, billing, and reporting.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 156 Introduction to Health Insurance
Introduce students to health insurance industry; present step-by-step procedures for generating, processing, and submitting health insurance claims to commercial, private, and governmental health insurance programs.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 200 Advanced Medical Terminology Prerequisite: BIOL 150 “C” or better.
Building a strong medical vocabulary, emphasis on extensive medical specialties anatomy, diagnostic and treatment procedures, progress of student from word recognition to usage in medical reports.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 249 Management of Health Info Prerequisite: Instructor consent.
Create an understanding of management principles as they apply to various health information management settings. The student will see the health information manager job as that of a broker-including data capture, analysis, integration, and information dissemination in the health information area. Each major management function is addressed: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 251 Medical Office Procedures Prerequisite: BE 141 or equivalent.
Administration of the medical office; insurance, professional and business records.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 254 Law Liability and Medical Ethics
A careful examination of health legislation and health policy implementation. Student will become aware of legal aspects of handling information and ethics involved in management of medical information. Case studies will be used to provide problem solving.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 255 Medical Manager Software
Administration of the medical office with use of “Medical Manager” practice management software. Hands-on computer experience with Medical Manager software. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of how accounts receivable, billing, collections and reporting are electronically performed.
3 credit hours: 3 lecture hours; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 261 Seminar Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in HIM 265.
Discussion of internship activities, challenges, team opportunities and problems.
1 credit hour: 1 lecture hour; 0 lab hours per week.
HIM 265 Internship Prerequisites: Instructor consent and concurrent enrollment in HIM 261.
Supervised field program, providing work experience in offices for students enrolled in Health Information Management.
3 credit hours: 0 lecture hours; 40 lab hours per week.
Course of Study Outline First Semester Suggested Courses (Credit Hours)
BE 141 — Computerized Keyboarding I (3)
BIOL 150 — Medical Terminology (3)
BE 110 — Data Entry (2)
BE 100 — Orientation to Work Environment (2)
HIM 156 — Introduction to Health Insurance (3)
Second Semester Suggested Courses (Credit Hours)
BE 180 — Business Communications (4)
HIM 200 — Advanced Medical Terminology (3)
HIM 251 — Medical Office Procedures (3)
HIM 249 — Management of Health Information (3)
HIM 255 — Medical Manager (3)
Third Semester Suggested Courses (Credit Hours)
HIM 254 — Law, Liability and Medical Ethics (3)
HIM 261 — Seminar (1)
HIM 265 — Internship (3)
Elective (3)
