Medical & Dental Office Administrator Certificate

Medicine, like other professions, has its own language. Students will learn to work with the specialized terminology of medicine, including pronunciation and spelling of terms. Students will learn through descriptions, illustrations, and exercises to identify the major anatomical features and systems of the body.

Students will expand their medical terminology by learning terms pertaining to: blood system, lymphatic system, musculoskeletal system, skin, sense organs like eye and ear, endocrine system, students will also cover topics on cancer medicine, oncology, radiology and nuclear medicine, pharmacology, etc.

Students will learn about the basic skills needed to perform effectively as a health office administrative assistant in today’s fast paced work environment. Students will role-play real life examples and scenarios to pinpoint key concepts. Students will learn about culture and multiculturalism in health care. The Canadian Health Act, standards, and safety in health care. Students will learn about the basics of the billing process, the basics of bookkeeping, petty cash, account records, and the daily routines and tasks of an office.

Medical transcription is taught based on the completion of Medical Terminology Levels 1 and 2 to reinforce medical terms and procedures. This module familiarizes the students with various medical letters and reports routinely dictated by medical professionals. This module is designed to enhance the student’s comprehension skills and editing and proofreading skills, with emphasis on speed and accuracy of their typing.

Students will create patient databases and complete Medical Office Billing using an ‘Accuro Optimed Software Program’. Students will become familiar with all aspects of computer Medical Billing, including MSP billing, WorkSafe BC billing, ICBC billing, personal billing, and medical legal billing. The latter half of this course focuses on Electronic Health Records. Students will get a hands-on approach to using practical exercises that are transferable to working with electronic healthcare record programs.

This course will provide the students with an overview of the normal development of the oral cavity and the teeth. Students will need this understanding to be able to communicate with their patients and coworkers. The following items will be discussed in this course: medical and dental terminology and language, oral structures and facial anatomy, general anatomy of the tooth, types of occlusion, and the three different numbering systems, etc.

This course will provide the students with an interview about patient privacy and an introduction to ethics. Students will adapt the knowledge and skills to be able to maintain patient records. Topics will include patient registration, medical and dental history forms, records retention, and records transfer. Students will also learn the charting symbols and abbreviations used in the clinical patient chart and practice entering in these symbols both manually and electronically.

This course provides an in-depth understanding and overview of dental insurance. The course provides students with the knowledge and skills related to the use of the provincial dental fee guide and terminology used with insurance and fees. Topics will include dental benefits and identifying all parties involved with dental benefits. This course will teach students how to perform all duties associated with preparing dental claim forms, both electronically and manually. This course provides students with the understanding of the following, dental benefits, benefit limitations, exclusions, coordination of benefits, assignment of benefits, co-payments, and explanation of benefits.

This course will teach students how to perform all tasks associated with the basic dental office bookkeeping procedures. Students will learn the financial systems used in the dental practice, including how to deal with both accounts receivables, and accounts payables. The course will also cover how to establish financial arrangements with your patients. Students will learn the basics of petty cash, payroll, how to deal with debit and credit transactions, and dealing with daily banking and bank reconciliation, etc.

This course introduces students to different dental software packages that are most readily used in the dental industry. This includes the student being able to learn the basics of patient registration, booking appointments, patient billing, reconciliation, medical and dental records, and prescription preparation. This will also include all the reports required by an office to account for all aspects of bookkeeping in a computerized system. The students will get hands-on training with these systems to be able to input patient registration, setup patient appointments, insurance billing, reconcile accounts, day, month, and year-end reports, and manage the patient record.

The Workplace Hazardous and Materials Information System provides specific health and safety information about workplace hazardous materials called control products. Employers must use this information and information that is specific to their job to educate and train workers to work safely with and near hazardous materials. Workers exposed to hazardous materials may be at risk for many health problems. These materials may cause fire and explosions. It is important for students who are entering the workforce to have basic knowledge of WHMIS to work safely with sensitive materials. Students will also participate in the first aid training.

This course provides information on how to use the communication skills in order to make a successful presentation to a prospective employer. Self-assessment during this course allows students to identify their personal skills.