The Lifelong Learning Center
310 South Curtis Street
Missoula, MT 59801
(406) 549-8765
Medical Office Essentials 
If you are considering a career in a medical office or hospital setting, this program provides you with the skills and contacts you need in your search for employment. The Medical Office Essentials program provides intensive training in five critical areas.
Employment Essentials The healthcare field is growing and prospective employers want to hire the top applicant. To be an employers’ first choice you must have the necessary skills and knowledge to do the job. Additionally, a well written resume, exceptional interview skills, and excellent references are required. To gain these skills this portion of the program focuses study in these areas with:
- Create a professional resume, cover letter, and an “thank-you” letters
- Practice for tough interview questions and critique of answers to improve interviewing skills
- Review of techniques to complete a job search in a new field
- Examination of expanded opportunities in the healthcare field
- The opportunity to learn more about the profession and potential employers from speakers and presentations
Business Writing The ability to write with clarity and efficiency is an essential skill in any business, yet one that many applicants lack. Participations will learn the basic fundamentals of business writing. This portion of the program focuses on:
- Writing a resume
- Writing a cover letter, interview thank you letter, and basic business letters
- Review of proper grammar and spelling will be completed through classroom exercises and assignments
Medical Terminology Understanding medical terminology is essential for success at all levels of healthcare. This portion of the program focuses on a student centered approach to learning basic medical terminology.
Understanding of medical terminology will be achieved through classroom exercises, discussion, memorization techniques, and testing in:
- Word formation with prefixes, suffixes, word roots and stems
- Emphasis is placed on definitions, usage, spelling, and pronunciation
- Review of clinical documentation to gain an accurate understanding of medical terminology and the “real-word” application of this language
Computer Component Due to the growth of the healthcare field the demand for trained administrative workers continues to increase. Some of this demand is based on the rapid growth of newer technology and advances in computer applications. Because of this demand those seeking to enter this field must obtain skills in the latest office software applications.
To help participants achieve the necessary skills this portion of the program focuses on:
- Microsoft Word 2010
- Microsoft Excel 2010
- Microsoft Outlook 2010
Understanding Health Insurance –
Essentials of Claims Billing and Basic Coding
The ability to understand the complexities of health insurance and billing procedures is necessary to successfully process claims and response to reimbursement issues. This portion of the program offers comprehensive guidance to understanding health insurance functions with a step-by-step approach to successfully master these objectives:
- Overview of basic operations within healthcare organizations
- Overview of medical records and functions for overall patient care
- Introduction of third party payer regulations and filing issues
- Introduction of HIPAA regulations including patient privacy
- Review of requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care plans
- Explain coding guidelines through “hands-on” exercises with diagnoses, procedures, supplies and understand medical necessity requirements
- Develop necessary skills to accurately complete clean claim forms
- Review processes for follow-up and collection procedures if claims are denied
- Develop an understanding of basic audit skills to help with accounts receivable, reimbursement, and collection functions
Length of Program
The Medical Office Essentials (MOE) program consists of 188 hours of instruction. Instruction will be held in both computer labs and the classroom.
Certificate
Upon successful conclusion of this program a certificate of completion will be awarded. The certificate includes a listing of the major competencies achieved, an accumulative grade point average, and attendance record. This certificate can be presented to perspective employers to assist them during the hiring process.
Approximate Cost:
$599 for 188 hours of instruction. Visa & MasterCard accepted. Additional text books required for an additional cost
Registration Requirements:
• Keyboarding speed of 35 words per minute or more verified by a Job Service keyboarding test in the last year or concurrent enrollment in a keyboarding class.
• Copy of test results from the Test of Adult Basic Education taken within the last year or a transcript that shows passing grades for at least 12 college credits. Call 549-8765 to schedule the TABE test. The fee is $25 for administration of the test.
Copyright© 2009 The Lifelong Learning Center