Medical Billing and Coding - Administrative Services

Overview of Health and Medical Administrative Services Programs- Medical Billing and Coding

Health and medical administrative services college and university programs deal with the management of patient files and records, insurance forms, billing and invoices, physician scheduling and general administrative support for doctors and other healthcare practitioners.

Degrees in Health and Medical Administrative Services Programs

Medical Assistant Diploma, Certified Nursing Assistant, Diploma in Allied Health Assistance, Certificate in Medical Assisting, Associate degree in Health Administrative Services, Bachelor degree in Health and Administrative Services and a Master degree in Health and Administrative Services are undergraduate and graduate diplomas, certificates and degrees in health and medical administrative services. Generally all you need is a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) to enroll in postsecondary health and medical administrative services academic training programs.

How to Enroll in Health and Medical Administrative Services Programs

The good thing about health and medical administrative services is that you can complete these programs at most postsecondary schools online or in the classroom.  You will generally need a log-in and password to access college and university online systems.  Some online health and medical administrative services programs are accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).  Others are accredited by medical and health accreditation organizations like the Accreditation Commission for Healthcare and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).  

Curriculum for Health and Medical Administrative Services Programs

Curriculums at accredited schools offer you a broad range of training.  They generally cover:

• Medical records
• Handling patient files
• Completing insurance documents
• Coding patient records
• Providing administrative support to physicians
• Medical terminology
• Communications
• Ethics and medical laws
• Accounting techniques
• Computer applications
• Office procedures

Skills Gained from Health and Medical Administrative Services Programs

Additional skills that you learn after you complete the coursework and start working for physicians, medical facilities and other healthcare practitioners include:

• Awareness of trends in the medical and healthcare industries
• Administrative support skills that are transferrable to other industries, thereby increasing your job opportunities
• Understanding of medical terminology that you can use to create your own coding and billing or virtual medical office assistant company and work from home
• Solid communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to create and manage budgets and other financial records and reports

Working in Health and Medical Administrative Services Careers

The health and medical administrative services field is one of the job fields that the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to grow faster than average compared to careers in other industries.  Jobs for medical assistants are expected to grow by as much as 34 percent from 2008 through 2018.  The Bureau reports that people who have completed training programs and gained certifications or work experience stand the best chances of landing quality employment in the health and medical administrative services field.  Although the middle 50 percent of these workers earned between $23,700 and $33,050 a year as of May 2008, the top 10 percent of the workers took home more than $39,570 a year.

Skills you gain while working in health and medical administrative services can help you to get promoted and gain jobs as dental hygienists, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing aides and surgical technologists if you return to school and get advanced certifications and/or degrees.  These more complicated and advanced jobs can help you to earn more than $50,000 a year.  For example as of May 2008, the Bureau reports that LPNs earned more than $53,580 a year.