The healthcare field offers many interesting and challenging career opportunities to graduates of the Medical Office Management (MOM) program, which provides training that emphasizes the administrative and business aspects of managing a medical or dental office. With strong administrative skills, including familiarization with today's computerized medical offices, you can become an integral part of a healthcare facility. Medical and dental offices, hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, and insurance companies are often hiring for entry-level positions such as insurance processor, medical records administrator, and medical transcriber. The MOM program is 740 hours (32 semester credit units), and it takes approximately nine months to complete, attending classes four hours a day, Monday-Friday. The MOM course ends with a 180-hour externship, during which you are provided on-the-job-training in an actual medical setting.

Students learn to set up patient records and maintain and organize them manually and electronically. Students develop skills in alphabetic filing and indexing and appointment scheduling. The basics of health insurance are introduced. CPR is taught, and the basics of coding are introduced. Speed and accuracy on the computer keyboard and the 10-key pad are developed. Medical Terminology continues to be taught in this course.

This course focuses on basic administrative procedures performed in the dental office. Specialized procedures are presented, including appointment scheduling, dental bookkeeping, processing patients, insurance billing and coding, law and ethics, and patient charting. Students will also perform checking of vital signs. Dental terminology is emphasized, and speed and accuracy on the computer and keyboard and the 10-key pad are developed.

This learning unit develops student proficiency in preparing and processing insurance claims. Students study insurance programs, including HMOs, PPOs, and Worker's Compensation plans. Students learn to obtain information from patient charts and ledgers to complete insurance forms accurately. The study of medical terminology is continued, and students gain additional speed on the computer keyboard and the 10-key pad.

The Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA programs are discussed. The course also focuses on important aspects of collection letters, telephone calls, and collection service agencies. Medical ethics and law are also included. Students develop speed and accuracy on the keyboard as well as the 10-key pad, and become more familiar with essential medical terminology.

This course emphasizes dictation and transcription. Emphasis is also placed on correspondence and mail processing, health information management, and the medical facility environment. Students will become familiar with the Medical Manager Program as well as Disability Income Insurance and legal issues affecting insurance claims. Computer keyboard and 10-key pad speed and accuracy continue to be taught, as well as medical terminology.

This course emphasizes computerized practice management, including file maintenance, patient records, bookkeeping, and insurance. Hospital billing is introduced in this course. Students will also learn more about taking a patient's vital signs. Students develop speed and accuracy on the computer keyboard as well the 10-key pad. They also become familiar with essential medical terminology.

Upon successful completion of the classroom training, Medical Office Management students participate in a 180-hour externship. Working at an approved facility gives externs the opportunity to work with patients to apply the principles and practices learned in the classroom. Externs work under the direct supervision of qualified personnel in participating institutions and under the general supervision of the school staff. Externing students are evaluated at 90- and 180-hour intervals, and the complete evaluation forms become a part of the enrollee's permanent record.