Health Care Business Services Program Code 101601

Employment Potential

A graduate of this program will have the potential for employment as:

. Admitting Representative

. Appointment Scheduler

. Claims Analyst

. Insurance Billing Specialist

. Medical Records Associate

. Patient Services Representative

. Patient Accounts Associate

. Provider Relations Associate

. Financial Counselor

. Medical and Insurance Customer Service Representative

With additional education and/or work experience, graduates may find other opportunities for employment.

. Clinic Office Supervisor or Manager
. Hospital Administrative Assistant
. Medical Credit Manager
. Nursing Home Administrator
. Nursing Home Administrative Assistant
. Patient Accounts Supervisor
. Health Insurance Supervisor/Trainer
. Certified Coding Specialist
. Health Insurance Provider Contract Analyst
. Physician Relations Administrator

Internship

Students will be required to pay for liability insurance, provide their own transportation to internship sites, and cover any other expenses related to internship experiences. Students may be expected to travel distances to internships.
Students will be required to complete a 2-step TB test and Caregiver Background Check prior to their internship. Students may be required by the internship site to complete a physical examination and/or provide proof of immunizations prior to interning.
Students are required to petition for an internship assignment. Students may petition by submitting a "Petition to Enter Internship" form to the Health Sciences Department office according to the following schedule:
. Spring semester internship deadline is September 30.
. Fall semester internship deadline is February 28.
NWTC will make every effort to place students in the semester they request. However, NWTC cannot guarantee an internship site assignment in the semester being requested.

Program Outcomes

. Follow federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
. Identify marketing methods and benefits for health care facilities.
. Use service and managed care contracts.
. Process patient accounts receivables.
. Schedule patient appointments.
. Use medical terminology.
. Use ICD 9 and CPT 4 coding.
. Complete and process health insurance claim forms.
. Process medical records release and storage procedures.
. Identify components of the U.S. healthcare delivery system.
. Apply computer skills specific to health care and health insurance.
. Record accounting and financial transactions in a medical setting.
. Use a computer keyboard.
. Investigate effective telephone techniques.
. Explore components of the employment interview.

Wisconsin Caregiver Law

NWTC is required to comply with the Wisconsin Caregiver Law (1997 WISCONSIN ACT 27). The completion of a caregiver background check includes the review of criminal records for convictions of serious crimes or a history of improper behavior. Students accepted into this program must complete a background information form disclosing any acts, crimes, or convictions prior to program entry. The information provided in the background information form must be truthful and match any findings on the criminal record check. Students with a criminal history may be denied access to placement at the discretion of the clinical or practicum site. Consequently, should a student have a history of convictions of serious crimes or a history of improper behaviors, NWTC cannot guarantee clinical/practicum placement or guarantee graduation within typical program timing.

Requirements for Program Application

. Completed application.
. High school transcript or equivalent. (For a list of equivalents, go to www.nwtc.edu/gettingstarted.)
. Admission Assessment or equivalent or ACT assessment taken within the last three years. (For a list of equivalents, please contact a Counselor.)
. Typing proficiency of 30 words per minute (mandatory preadmission typing test to be taken at the NWTC Assessment Center).

Requirements for Program Entry

. As a requirement for program entry, an Academic Skills Assessment (Accuplacer) with appropriate benchmark scores is necessary or the minimum standard composite score of 20 on the ACT must be acheived. College Benchmarks are: Reading Comprehension: 55; Arithmetic: 34; Sentence Skills: 60. However, we recommend a student receive the following scores to be successful in this program. Reading Comprehension: 75; Arithmetic: 72; Sentence Skills: 84. Remediation options are available to reach recommended scores. Equivalent assessment scores are acceptable. To learn more about these assessments and program benchmark scores, please contact a Counselor (920) 498-5444 or (888) 385-6982.
. Attend mandatory spring program orientation.

Flexible Learning Option

. The majority of Health Care Business Services program courses are offered on-line.
. The program may be completed in a part-time or full-time format.

The following certificates/technical diplomas may be applied toward this program:

. 901041, Health Care Business Services Certificate

Curriculum

The Health Care Business Services Associate Degree is an on-line, two-year, four-semester program. Upon graduation, a student will have completed 65 credits.

FIRST SEMESTER

SECOND SEMESTER

THIRD SEMESTER

FOURTH SEMESTER

Curriculum Note
* No final grade lower than a "C" is acceptable in any of the courses marked with an asterisk. A student who withdraws or receives a grade lower than a "C" in a program course may apply for re-entry into the program. Consideration for re-entry will be at the discretion of the re-entry team and will be dependent on clinical availability.
. A candidate who does not meet the requirements for program entry should meet with an NWTC counselor to develop a learning plan to make up any deficiencies through testing or course work.
. It is recommended that students interested in pursuing a degree in Health Information Technology should take ICD Diagnosis Coding (10-530-197) and CPT Coding (10-530-184) in place of Diagnostic/Procedure Coding (10-530-155).

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

These courses provide an opportunity for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding required for employment in this field.

10-101-106 ACCOUNTING-FOR NON-ACCOUNTANTS ...teaching non-accountants to read, analyze, and interpret financial information for making informed business decisions. This class de-emphasizes the use of debits, credits, journal entries and other accounting procedures.

10-103-111 MICRO: WINDOWS-INTRODUCTION ...Windows desktop elements, help features, folder and file management (create, delete, move, find file), and Search strategies.

10-103-121 MICRO: WORD-INTRODUCTION ...word processing basics including creating, revising, formatting, and printing; sections, tabs, multiple-page numbering; manipulating text; creating headers/footers; creating and formatting tables, graphics; and merging documents. Requires Windows experience.

10-103-131 MICRO: EXCEL-INTRODUCTION ...creating a worksheet, enhancing worksheet appearance, moving and copying data, using formulas and functions, creating charts and using clip art. Requires Windows experience.

10-103-141 MICRO: ACCESS-INTRODUCTION ...creating and modifying database tables, compacting a database, managing records, defining table relationships, creating queries, calculations, and aggregate functions, sorting, and using form and report wizards. Requires Windows experience.

10-103-151 MICRO: POWERPOINT-INTRODUCTION ...presentation development skills such as: graphics, tables, diagrams, shapes, design themes, sounds, animations, slide transitions, and integration with other software. Requires Windows and MS Word experience.

10-104-191 CUSTOMER SERVICE ...develop professional telephone etiquette, explore customer service work environments, identify and analyze customer service failures, resolve problems cost effectively, set complaint policies, and develop communication techniques to handle complaining customers.

10-160-140 HEALTHCARE BUSINESS SERVICES INTERNSHIP ...career planning, resumes, interviews, search strategy, actual health care work experience, applied workplace improvements and ethical model. (Prerequisites: Accepted in the Health Care Business Services Program; 10-530-155, Diagnostic/Procedure Coding; Corequisite: 10-160-166, Medical Billing Processes)

10-160-143 MEDICAL PRACTICE PROCEDURES ...professional duties, medical scheduling, admissions, medical office software, 10-key, third-party payer processes, managed care procedures, empathy, diversity, medical records, confidentiality, information systems, regulation, office medical administration. (Prerequisite: 10-103-111, Micro: Windows Intro; 10-103-121, Micro: Word-Intro; 10-530-176, Health Data Management)

10-160-151 HEALTHCARE RELATIONS ...financing of healthcare, managed care participants and products, integrated systems, organizational structure, provider networks, purchasers, cost containment, quality of care, regulation, and accountability. (Prerequisite: 10-160-161, Insurance Health Principles)

10-160-161 INSURANCE HEALTH PRINCIPLES ...this course presents common health insurance terminology. Students are introduced to various insurance programs including: private health insurance, dental insurance, Workers’ Compensation, disability insurance, dental insurance, hospital insurance, government plans including: Medicare, Medicaid and TriCare. (Corequisite: 10-530-172, Healthcare Delivery Systems)

10-160-165 HCBS ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES...a study of the principles of management to include planning, organizing, human resource management, directing, and controlling as related to the health information department. (Corequisite: 10-160-143, Medical Practice Procedures)

10-160-166 MEDICAL BILLING PROCESSES...optimizing key billing and collection processes; breaking down the billing and collection process; granting credit in a medical facility; examine expected performance outcomes and advanced billing practices. (Prerequisites: 10-101-106, Accounting for Non-Accountants; 10-160-143, Medical Practice Procedures)

10-501-101 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY ...focuses on the component parts of medical terms: Prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Students practice formation, analysis and reconstruction of terms. Emphasis on spelling, definition and pronunciation. Introduction to operative, diagnostic, therapeutic and symptomatic terminology of all body systems, as well as systemic and surgical terminology.

10-501-102 INTRODUCTION TO DENTAL TERMINOLOGY...this course introduces dental vocabulary and terms used in the dental office. Topics include word parts, root words and basic dental terminology.

10-530-155 DIAGNOSTIC/PROCEDURE CODING...the International Classification of Diseases and Current Procedural Terminology with emphasis on coding skills, use of this classification system in health care settings, its application for statistical and reimbursement purposes. (Prerequisites: 10-501-101, Medical Terminology; 10-806-189, Basic Anatomy)

10-530-172 HEALTHCARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS...examines the organization, financing, regulation, and delivery of health care services. Includes the study of healthcare professionals.

10-530-176 HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT...introduces the use and structure of health care data elements, data sets, data standards, their relationships to primary and secondary record systems and health information processing. (Corequisites: 10-530-181, Intro to Health Record; 10-530-172, Healthcare Delivery Systems)

10-530-178 HEALTHCARE LAW & ETHICS ...examines regulations for the content, use, confidentiality, disclosure, and retention of health information. An overview of the legal system and ethical issues are addressed. (Prerequisite: 10-530-176, Health Data Management)

10-530-181 INTRO TO THE HEALTH RECORD... illustrate the flow of health information in various health care delivery systems and within the health information department; retrieve data from health records; professional ethics; confidentiality and security of information.

10-801-136 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 ...learners develop knowledge/skills in planning, organizing, writing, editing. Students will also analyze audience/purpose, use elements of research, format documents using standard guidelines, and develop critical reading skills. 3 cr.

10-806-189 BASIC ANATOMY ...Examines concepts of anatomy and physiology as they relate to health careers. Learners correlate anatomical and physiological terminology to all body systems. (Prerequisite: Recommendation: High School Chemistry or High School Biology with a "C" or better OR College Chemistry or College Biology or College General Anatomy transfer credit with a grade
of "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-801-196 ORAL/INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION ...the communication process, perception and self-concept, language, listening, nonverbal communication, interpersonal relationships, communication in groups and public communication; prepare and deliver an oral presentation. 3 cr.

10-804-123 MATH W BUSINESS APPS ...real numbers; basic operations; proportions/one variable; percents, simple/compound interest; annuity; apply math concepts to purchasing/buying process, selling process; and basic statistics with business/consumer applications. (Prerequisite: Recommendation:Accuplacer Arithmetic = 65). 3 cr.

10-809-198 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY ...survey of theoretical foundations of human behavior such as sensation and perception, motivation, emotions, learning, personality, psychological disorders, therapy, stress, and human diversity in personal, social and vocational settings. 3 cr.

10-809-172 RACE ETHNIC & DIVERSITY ...basic American values of justice and equality by teaching vocabulary, history of immigration/conquest, transcultural communication, legal liability, multicultural majority/minority relations, ageism, sexism, gender, sexual orientation, the disabled/ADA. 3 cr.

10-809-196 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY ...the nature and variety of groups; inequality, race and ethnicity; family, population, social integration, and change; collective behavior; politics, economics, religion, education, and the effects of technology. 3 cr.

10-809-195 ECONOMICS ...scarcity, resources, alternative economic systems, growth, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, and global economic issues. 3 cr.