Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Required course which fulfills a portion of the curriculum for the Certificate in Medical Assisting.
The extent of transferability or credit allowed for the course would be dependent upon the institution and the program to which the student is transferring.
Students must also enroll in Medical Office Administrative Procedures Lab (MA 118) concurrently for laboratory practice of materials covered in this course.
 

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1.Communicate appropriately and in a caring manner in a medical setting.
2. Apply understanding of legal and ethical issues he/she may encounter in the medical setting to enhance decision making.
3. Conduct and accurately document a health history and other medical information.
4. Follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) security regulations for all patient clinical records.
5. Recognize and apply appropriate accommodations for special needs and cultural differences within the healthcare setting.
6. Apply knowledge regarding the patient centered medical home and its effect on the delivery of healthcare.

Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) will be discussed in relation to each skill introduced during this course.  Students will learn how the healthcare system is changing and what role a Medical Assistant has in a PCMH model.  Small group work will take place, designed "pods," and larger classroom discussions will incorporate each pod.  

Students will demonstrate these learning outcomes by these tasks conducted individually and in cooperation with other students:

1.  Answer theoretical and application multiple choice questions on information covered in lecture and reading assignments.

2. Critical thinking activities with small groups.

3. Peer assessment of work within small groups. 
 

The following list outlines the concepts, themes, and issues you need to understand and be able to use appropriately. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding in written and oral form, individually and in groups.
l.0  MEDICAL RECEPTION
Understand general office policies. Understand basic medical assisting clerical functions, bookkeeping principles and operational functions. Develop knowledge and skill to function effectively in the reception area of a medical office, making appointments, answering telephones and obtaining patient information.
2.0  SCHEDULING
Develop knowledge and skill in scheduling in and out of office appointments and maintain the appointment calendar as a legal document, appointment matrix, patient flow, and outside services.
3.0  ESTABLISHING PATIENT MEDICAL RECORD
Develop knowledge and skill in the initiation and maintenance of medical records. Create, manage and maintain mock medical records. Obtain and record patients histories. Understand medical record confidentiality and HIPAA. Students will also create mock patient charts to utilize in administrative and clinical lab. Students will fill out patient registration forms, health history forms, medical release forms, immunization record forms, medication record forms and properly place them in the chart.
4.0  PATIENT NAVIGATOR/ADVOCATE
Develop knowledge to be able to provide information about community resources, facilitate referrals to community resources and referral follow-up.
5.0  TELEPHONE TECHNIQUE
Develop knowledge and skill in the use of the telephone, handling incoming and placing outgoing calls with knowledge, efficiency and courtesy. Students will practice mock phone conversations practicing professional phone technique.
6.0  BANKING AND FINANCIAL PROCEDURES
Develop knowledge of financial terminology, data entry, billing procedures, and collection procedures.
7.0  ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE RECORDS
Develop knowledge and skill in the maintenance of accounts receivable records including various billing methods and collection procedures. Students will properly fill out CMS-1500 forms.
8.0  ACCOUNTS PAYABLE RECORDS
Develop knowledge and skill in the maintenance of accounts payable records in the physician's office.
9.0  INSURANCE CONCEPTS AND PROCEDURES
Develop knowledge and skill in the processing of claims for submission to third party payers, including the knowledge of CPT coding.Apply managed care policies and procedures. Apply third party guidelines. Perform procedural and diagnostic coding. Complete insurance claim forms. Students will properly fill out CMS-1500 forms

10.0  THE COMPUTER IN THE MEDICAL PRACTICE
Develop knowledge of the basic vocabulary and language of computers and skill in learning the basic functions of a computer programmed for specific purposes in a medical office. Utilize computer awareness to maintain administrative and clinical equipment. Introduce electronic medical records (EMR) systems.
11.0  MAIL
Develop knowledge and skill in handling written communications, both incoming and outgoing mail. Respond to and initiate written communication. Recognize and respond to verbal and nonverbal communication. Students will type up mock lab letters and mail them properly. Students will also fill out preset lab letter and properly mail them out.

12.0 PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION

The goal is to provide knowledge and skills in the basic principles of psychology and self-understanding of social adaptability for communications and actions with physicians, employees and patients. Understand principles of recognition and response to verbal and nonverbal communication.

13.0  HEALTH LITERACY
Develop knowledge for individuals to have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions and services needed to prevent or treat illness, understanding the dependence on individual and systemic factors, communication skills of lay persons and professionals, lay and professional knowledge of health topics, culture, demands of the healthcare and public health systems, demands of the situation/context, and how this applies to chronic-disease management.

14.0  MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING
Develop knowledge and skills that works on facilitating and engaging intrinsic motivation within the student in order to change behavior through the interview process. Students will be exposed to goal-oriented, self reflecting behavior changes and improvements  to explore and resolve ambivalence.

15.0  TEAM BASED CARE
Develop knowledge and skills to understand the importance of team collaboration within the medical group; understand clear roles of each team member and health professional; importance of mutual trust and effective communication; understanding and application of measurable outcomes.

16.0 PATIENT CENTERED COMMUNICATION
Develop knowledge on the importance of effective, patient-centered communication relating to quality care; understand ethical implications necessary for informed consent, effective patient engagement, means to avoid errors, improve quality, and achieving better health outcomes.