About the Program
The Medical Office Administration (MOA) program is a two-tiered, structured career pathway for students who are interested in providing office support in the exciting and demanding healthcare industry. The MOA career pathway is a blend of three major areas: the advancing field of health information management (HIM), the ever-emerging field of business technology, and the constantly in-demand communication and professional skills; and it is designed to prepare students with the knowledge and skills required of today's medical office support personnel. The types of healthcare delivery systems in the United States today vary depending on the services being offered. These systems include outpatient healthcare (a physician's office, a dentist's office, and many other types of healthcare providers' facilities) and inpatient healthcare (general medical and surgical hospitals). These systems can be complex in purpose and structure. However, all healthcare organizations demand a common set of knowledge and skills from their medical office support personnel, which includes a broad understanding of healthcare delivery systems, health information management systems and practices, proficient technology skills, and a high-level of professionalism.
To meet these demands, the MOA career pathway includes courses in healthcare delivery systems, health information management systems, human systems, medical terminology, electronic health records, healthcare law and ethics, healthcare coding systems, healthcare reimbursement methodologies, electronic health records, Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access), collaboration tools, business communication, and professional development. Career related fields for the MOA include Medical Office Receptionist, Medical Office Assistant, Front Office Representative, Medical Records Administrative Assistant, Insurance Verification Specialist, and Medical Intake Specialist. In the workplace, students can expect to perform medical office support duties including scheduling appointments; compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence; and coding health records; and billing patients. Students interested in earning an AS degree in MOA will have successfully completed the MOA Certificate and the MOA Certificate of Achievement along with general education requirements and any electives required. Taken full time, this program can be completed in two years.
Program Requirements
For current program requirements -> 2024-2025
Program Goal: Career
GE Pattern(s): Butte Local
Program Code: 01315.01AS
Program Learning Outcome(s):
Upon successful completion of this program, the student will be able to:
Apply knowledge of medical terminology to perform outpatient/physician diagnostic coding, and determine outpatient/procedural coding based on the abstraction of medical records.
Analyze and interpret medical information and apply sound decision-making skills pertaining to the appropriate ICD and CPT codes needed to maximize compensation for services rendered.
Apply effective listening, verbal, written, interpersonal, and technological communication skills which prepare them for the outpatient medical workplace.
Describe the outpatient medical workplace environment and function in that environment as a knowledgeable, skilled, and professional team member.
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level III; Math Level II
Transfer Status: NT
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course explores the specialized language used within the medical profession. Emphasis is placed on the definition, pronunciation and spelling of medical terms with focus on building medical words using prefixes, word roots, suffixes and combining forms. To further advance a working knowledge of these terms, vocabulary is taught in relation to the basic anatomy, physiology and pathology of body systems.
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: BCIS 84, ability to key 25 wpm, Reading Level IV; English Level III; Math Level II
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
42.50 hours Lecture
/ 25.50 hours Lab
Total Course Hours: 68.00
This course is an examination of information and communication technologies used in today's businesses and the impact these technologies are having on today's workplaces. The course will include examination and application of a wide range of information and communication technology tools used to support and enhance business functions and processes. Focus will be placed on solving a variety of business problems, improving organizational productivity, and achieving the goals of business.
Unit(s): 1.00
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
17.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 17.00
This course introduces students to identifying essential external and internal communication skills, managing conflict, developing a positive attitude, and creating the professional image for the workplace.
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: ALH 104 and Reading Level IV; English Level III; Math Level II
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course introduces students to the medical coding classification systems used in the United States healthcare industry: International Classification of Diseases 10 Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). Through analysis of case histories and surgical reports, students will learn to distinguish between primary and secondary diagnoses codes, to assign the proper procedural codes, and to explain the importance of accurate medical documentation and clinical records.
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level III; Math Level II and ALH 104 and HIM 62
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course introduces students to the reimbursement methodologies used in healthcare in the United States. The focus of the course will be on the accurate preparation and maintenance of clinical records and medical documentation. Students will analyze insurance plans spanning government and private sectors and learn to properly complete the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services claim form (CMS 1500) used in medical outpatient facilities. Topics include working with specific insurance companies, filing error-free claims, resubmitting denied claims, utilizing effective collection strategies, and handling the appeal process.
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: HIM 56 and HIM 62 and Reading Level IV; English Level III; Math Level II
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course introduces students to Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and their place in healthcare. The curriculum reinforces the relationship between all of the components needed for a complete patient medical record including the clinical, administrative, and reimbursement components. Topics in this class are based on the national curriculum competencies developed by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
Unit(s): 3.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level IV
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course applies the principles of creating ethical and effective business communication to letters, memos, emails, and written and oral reports. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents utilizing appropriate software to prepare and deliver written documents and professional-level oral reports.
Unit(s): 1.50
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level III
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
10.50 hours Lecture
/ 40.50 hours Lab
Total Course Hours: 51.00
This course is designed for the student who has had little or no previous training in the operation of a keyboard. Students learn to type by touch, to use appropriate keyboarding techniques, and to develop speed and accuracy.
Unit(s): 4.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level IV; Math Level IV
Transfer Status: CSU/UC
Contact Hours:
51.00 hours Lecture
/ 51.00 hours Lab
Total Course Hours: 102.00
This course is intended for students in programs such as Emergency Medical Services and Health Information Management. Topics include fundamentals of the structure and function of the human body from an organ system perspective: Key concepts and basic principles of the chemistry of life, cells and tissues, cell physiology, structural organization and physiological principles in organ systems, system integration, and homeostasis in health and disease. (Not intended for Nursing students).
Unit(s): 2.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level IV
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
34.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 34.00
This course is an introduction to the growing, dynamic profession of Health Information Management (HIM) and provides a foundation for those students pursuing the HIM field including medical office administration and medical coding. Foundational topics include the field of HIM; the purpose, evolution, and structure of US healthcare delivery systems; the purpose, organization, and storage of medical health records; the role of information technology in healthcare; the functions and organization of Electronic Health Records (EHR); the legal aspects of health information; and the standardized usage of classification systems to document diagnoses and procedures to support reimbursement methods, data management, and research in healthcare.
Unit(s): 2.00
Recommended Prep: Reading Level IV; English Level IV
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
34.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 34.00
This course introduces students to legal and ethical issues they will encounter while working in the field of Health Information Management (HIM). Topics include an overview of legal issues relating to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), healthcare delivery, ethics, judicial processes, and standards of care. This course also includes bioethical and moral issues related to HIM and how they affect the day-to-day operations of medical offices.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of Cooperative Work Experience Education instructor and employment supervisor
Unit(s): 1.00
- 8.00
Transfer Status: CSU
Contact Hours:
0.00 hours Lecture
Total Course Hours: 0.00
Career Work Experience (CWE) is a course that gives students the opportunity to earn both a grade and units for what they learn on the job related to their vocational major while gaining practical work experience. Students may earn one semester unit of college credit in this course for every sixty hours of unpaid work experience (60-480 hours unpaid) or seventy-five hours of paid work experience (75-600 hours paid). Students may earn a maximum of sixteen units for all types of Work Experience.
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Contacts
Sandy Sloan, Chair
(530) 895-2385
Department Office: BE 116
(530) 895-2371
Counseling and Advising:
(530) 895-2378
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