Medical Administration
Medical Administration - AAS
Train for a career as a medical records and health information technician, or a billing and posting clerk, through BTC's Medical Administration program. Students will gain a broad base of knowledge in general office skills, along with the required background in medical insurance billing and coding procedures. Program graduates typically work for hospitals, physician offices, insurance companies, extended care facilities and home healthcare firms.
Note: BTC has not made a determination that the Medical Administration curriculum meets educational requirements for licensure/certification outside of Washington State. We encourage students who plan to work out-of-state to check relevant local licensure/certification requirements.
Employment Information
$69,632 starting annual wage2
$83,578 average annual wage2
$103,723 potential annual wage2
Entry Information
When Can I Start?
Students interested in the Medical Administration program should apply to the college and contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with getting started at BTC. A college application and your score on assessment testing and/or previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence.
This program is an open enrollment program; students may start in any quarter; however, some courses are only offered once per year.
What are the Minimum Entry Requirements?
Admissions application and assessment testing in Reading and Writing is required. Your score on the test and/or your previous transcripts will determine your acceptance into the Program. Contact Admissions at 360-752-8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.
A cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and minimum grade of C/2.0 for required courses.
Early Program Course Requirements
What are My Next Steps?
Classes
Total Program Credits: 90
Quarter 1
HT 100 Fundamentals of Medical Terminology 5 CR HT 103 Diseases of The Human Body 5 CR HT 121 Essentials of Anatomy Physiology 5 CR Quarter 2
CAP 101 Introduction to Computer Applications 5 CR HT 120 Intorduction to Medical Insurance Billing 5 CR HT 122 Medical Office Procedures 5 CR Quarter 3
HT 131 Intoduction to Medical Coding 5 CR HT 132 Medical Records Management 5 CR HT 135 Pharmacology for the Medical Office 3 CR Quarter 4
BUS 191 Technical Communications 5 CR HT 225 Nutrition & Health for Healthcare Professionals 4 CR PSYC& 100 General Psychology 5 CR Quarter 5
AMATH 100 Applied Occupational Math 5 CR OR BUS 150 Math for Business 5 CR HT 230 Medical Diagnostic Coding-ICD 5 CR HT 240 Medical Procedure Coding-CPT & HCPCS 5 CR Quarter 6
HT 265 Medical Billing and Coding Practicum 8 CR HT 275 Medical Ethics and Law 5 CR Required Elective Credit: 5 CR Medical Administration students may choose elective credits from any 100 level or higher courses with the following prefixes: ACCT, BIOL, BUS, CAP, CHEM, CMST, ECON, ENGL, HT, IT, LGL, MATH, MGMT, POLS, PSYC, or SOC. Field Based Experience courses may not be used as electives. Courses taken to meet the general education or program core requirements may not be used for electives. Medical Administration students who transfer into this program, who are under 90 credits, may take additional courses to meet the 90 credit minimum requirement.
Program Outcomes
After successfully completing the Medical Administration AAS, students will be able to:
- Perform front office tasks using simulated electronic health records software including scheduling appointments, registering patients and documenting patient health information using correct medical terminology and editing skills
- Identify and apply the concepts of medical insurance billing reimbursement policies, practices and industry guidelines
- Perform medical coding using appropriate coding systems
- Identify the governing bodies at the Federal, State and Local levels and apply their laws in a healthcare setting
- Analyze and explain the concepts of medical ethics and their impact on medical office operations
- Analyze and identify industry changes to the standard of care, including nutrition, lifestyle and pharmaceuticals
- Analyze strategies to improve the quality of patient services and quantitative analysis in medical office operations
- Evaluate healthcare business structure, management and the hiring processes.
Employment Outlook
Employment of medical records and health information technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average due to rapid growth in the number of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that will be increasingly scrutinized by third-party payers, regulators, courts, and consumers.
Computers are greatly simplifying the billing process and reducing the need for billing clerks, companies are putting greater emphasis on getting bills out faster in order to get paid more quickly. In addition, the fact that most billing clerks work in the fastest-growing sector of our economy (the health care sector) will generate more jobs for billing clerks in the future.
Criminal convictions may restrict or prevent student participation with internships and employment in this industry.
The average annual wage in this field is $43,472, with an earning potential of $54,288 annually.
Many jobs are in hospitals and the rest are mostly in offices of physicians, nursing care facilities, outpatient care centers, and home healthcare services. Insurance firms that deal in health matters employ a small number of health information technicians to tabulate and analyze health information. Public health departments also hire technicians to supervise data collection from healthcare institutions and to assist in research.
Faculty & Support
Shelley Walker
Medical AdministrationContacts
If you have questions about this program or want help with the admissions steps to Bellingham Technical College, please email outreach@btc.edu.
Current students wanting academic planning and support, can connect with the program Instructor(s) or email NursingAlliedHealthNav@btc.edu