Administrative Healthcare Assisting, Certificate

Degree: Certificate
HEGIS Code: 5214
Curriculum Code: 980.MOA
Health Sciences Division

• Program Description
• Admission Requirements
• Department Notes
• Licensure Compliance Statement
• Program Competencies
• Curriculum

Program Description

The Administrative Healthcare Assisting (AHA) Certificate program at SUNY Erie offers an opportunity for students to learn either administrative or clinical aspects of the Medical Assisting profession.

AHA students develop a professional vocabulary of medical terminology and gain an understanding medical law and ethics for healthcare professionals including healthcare competency, equity, cultural competence, and patient navigator concepts. AHA students also learn the standards and features of an EHR system and appointment scheduling using the MEDENT Electronic Health Record (EHR) Practice Management System.

The Administrative Healthcare Assisting (AHA) Certificate program offers two different concentrations to prepare students for employment positions in a variety of medical and healthcare settings in one academic year.

AHA Administrative Concentration:

The Administrative Concentration incorporates eleven (11) existing administrative courses required by the Medical Assisting AAS program and focuses on administrative procedures and financial processes for the medical practice, physician office coding and reimbursement procedures, including ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS II, managed care, revenue cycles and remittance advices.

Midway through their second semester, students participate in a supervised administrative externship experience of at least 80 contact hours in an assigned SUNY Erie affiliated healthcare setting. Bridging the gap between student and allied healthcare professional, the externship gives students the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of AHA Program Competency requirements.  Students will perform administrative skills acquired throughout the duration of the Administrative Healthcare Assisting program, earning practical experience while engaging with other members of the healthcare team.

The goal of the Administrative Concentration is to produce graduates who possess the necessary knowledge of contemporary patient-centered healthcare practices and the necessary administrative skills to become efficient administrative healthcare assistants. A nationally recognized certification exam is administered upon successful program completion for graduates to demonstrate competency in skills attainment as they begin careers as certified administrative health assistants and work alongside other valued members of the allied healthcare team. This concentration also provides a broad base of information that allows graduates to successfully continue their education in a related healthcare field or apply credits toward a Medical Assisting AAS degree or other 2-year and 4-year Allied Health programs such as Healthcare Administration, Health Information Management (HIM), or (HIT) Health Information Technology (HIT).

AHA Clinical Concentration:

For those seeking an in-demand entry-level career in the healthcare industry, the Clinical Concentration incorporates twelve (12) Medical Assisting AAS courses and introduces students to the role of the phlebotomy technician in a simulated clinical environment while providing a credentialing pathway that prepares learners for national certification exams. In addition to using simulation arms to practice basic venipuncture skills and learn the phlebotomy specimen collection process and phlebotomy theory and techniques, students will learn the fundamentals of laboratory safety, proper disposal of biohazardous waste materials and medical sharps, and discuss established regulations and standards, quality assurance and liability risk management as they apply to the practice of phlebotomy.

In the second semester, students obtain direct patient care experience collecting clinical samples from actual patients under the supervision of a host-site preceptor during individually assigned off-campus clinical rotations using techniques and skills learned in the on-campus simulated clinical environment. Students also complete compliance training sessions in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards regarding Bloodborne Pathogens, Infection Control and Laboratory Safety procedures, as well as the standards to safeguard protected health information (PHI) as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The goal of the Clinical Concentration is to produce graduates who possess the necessary knowledge to work effectively with patients alongside other valued members of the allied healthcare team as entry-level certified phlebotomists. A nationally recognized certification exam is administered upon successful program completion for graduates to demonstrate competency in skills attainment as they begin careers as certified phlebotomists but may serve as a gateway into another healthcare career and/or add valuable experience and certification to enhance another degree. This concentration also provides a broad base of information that allows graduates to successfully continue their education in a related healthcare field or apply credits toward a Medical Assisting AAS degree or other 2-year and 4-year Allied Health programs such as Nursing or Clinical Laboratory.

Admission Requirements

Admission criteria include:

• high school degree or HSE (High School Equivalency)
• completion of all developmental English and math courses 

Progression

Students must maintain a minimum grade of C in all Medical Assisting (MA) courses and a minimum grade of C- in all other required courses. All courses may be repeated only once. If minimal grades are not attained or if the student has withdrawn (W) from a course a second time or has failed a course a second time (a grade below a C in MA courses; or earned a grade below a C- in all other required courses) it will result in dismissal from the Administrative Healthcare Assisting program.  

Administrative Healthcare Assisting courses are integrated and sequenced in a specific manner to enable students to attain program competencies.

Note: a felony conviction may impede a student from being eligible for externship placement. 

Graduation Requirements

• Once accepted into the program, students must complete all Administrative Healthcare Assisting courses within a two-year time period.
• For graduation, students must have an overall GPA of 2.0 and a minimum grade of C in all Administrative Healthcare Assisting courses.
• Upon completing all required coursework for the Administrative Healthcare Assisting program, students must apply for graduation at www.ecc.edu/graduate.
• Earning a Administrative Healthcare Assisting Cerificate does not constitute certification; students must pass a national certification exam to become certified as an Administrative Health Assistant.

Department Notes

• Students are responsible for providing transportation to off-campus externship experiences to observe and/or perform administrative skills for at least 80 contact hours in an assigned SUNY Erie affiliated healthcare setting.
• Student accident insurance is available and highly recommended for part-time students.
• Students who have previously taken a medical terminology course at another institution or who have had experience working in the medical field may elect to schedule and take a proficiency test to obtain credit by examination for Medical Terminology I (MA 115) and/or Medical Terminology II (MA 125). Upon successfully passing the Medical Terminology I (MA 115) proficiency test, the student may elect to schedule and take the Medical Terminology II (MA 125) proficiency test. Any interested student should contact the Department Chair at sylviab@ecc.edu with their SUNY Erie Student ID and email address to schedule an appointment to take the exam. Note: Students MUST take the proficiency tests PRIOR to enrolling in their respective courses.

Licensure Compliance Statement

Effective July 1, 2024, federal regulation requires institutions of higher education to make a determination whether a Title IV eligible academic program that leads to professional licensure or certification meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the U.S. State where the institution is located and the U.S. States where “distance education” students are located at the time of initial enrollment in the program, as well as U.S. States where the program is advertised as meeting such requirements, and if applicable, the U.S. State where students attest they intend to be licensed/certified. The Administrative Healthcare Assistant/Certificate program at SUNY Erie Community College is registered by the New York State Education Department and thus meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification for New York State. Through a good faith effort, and for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation, we have determined that Administrative Healthcare Assistant/Certificate program at SUNY Erie Community College does not meet the educational requirements for licensure/certification in any other U.S. State.  However, it is important to note that SUNY Erie Community College is not the licensure/certification authority in any U.S. State and cannot assess whether an individual candidate will be issued a license/certificate in any U.S. State and instead it is incumbent on each individual candidate to contact the licensure/certification authority in the applicable U.S. State for any further guidance on the requirements for licensure/certification requirements and application processes.

Program Competencies

AHA Administrative Concentration:

Upon graduation with a certificate in Administrative Healthcare Assisting, the graduate will be able to:

1. Perform administrative skills, including EMR data entry and organization, appointment scheduling, insurance verification, accounts receivable procedures, patient account adjustments, day sheet preparation and end-of-day reconciliations and telehealth procedures.
2. Identify human body systems, recognizing their structure, function, organization, and common pathologies, and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid procedures.
3. Identify and reply to verbal and nonverbal communication, recognize and overcome communication barriers, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion relative to patient care, demonstrate professional telephone techniques, and compose office correspondence using appropriate medical terminology, correct grammar, usage and mechanics.
4. Identify attributes of revenue cycles as they relate to managed care, recognize third-party reimbursement procedures for patient referrals, precertification, prior authorization, insurance claims and remittance advices and perform current procedural and diagnostic coding (ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS II), using medical necessity guidelines.
5. Identify scope of practice, standard of care, licensure and certification, healthcare regulations, public health statutes, and criminal and civil law as they apply to medical assistants and use applied ethics theories to evaluate contemporary bioethical issues and their impact on the contemporary healthcare environment, recognizing social responsibility as it applies to healthcare and cultural competency in terms of literacy, equity, disparity and the role of the medical assistant as patient navigator.
6. Demonstrate competency in the cognitive objectives, psychomotor competencies and affective behaviors necessary to enter the administrative healthcare assisting profession and apply appropriate knowledge, skills and abilities consistent with acceptable professional conduct standards while performing administrative procedures, including quality assurance practices in healthcare.

AHA Clinical Concentration:

Upon graduation with a certificate in Administrative Healthcare Assisting, the graduate will be able to:

1. Perform administrative skills, including EMR data entry and organization, appointment scheduling, insurance verification, accounts receivable procedures, patient account adjustments, day sheet preparation and end-of-day reconciliations and telehealth procedures.
2. Identify human body systems, recognizing their structure, function, organization, and common pathologies, and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid procedures.
3. Identify and reply to verbal and nonverbal communication, recognize and overcome communication barriers, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion relative to patient care, demonstrate professional telephone techniques, and compose office correspondence using appropriate medical terminology, correct grammar, usage and mechanics.
4. Perform clinical skills, including specimen collection, CLIA-waived laboratory tests, phlebotomy and capillary punctures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic first aid procedures, proper biohazardous material and medical sharps waste disposal, standard precautions for bloodborne pathogens, and proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
5. Identify scope of practice, standard of care, licensure and certification, healthcare regulations, public health statutes, and criminal and civil law as they apply to medical assistants and use applied ethics theories to evaluate contemporary bioethical issues and their impact on the contemporary healthcare environment, recognizing social responsibility as it applies to healthcare and cultural competency in terms of literacy, equity, disparity and the role of the medical assistant as patient navigator.
6. Demonstrate competency in the cognitive objectives, psychomotor competencies and affective behaviors necessary to enter the administrative healthcare assisting profession and apply appropriate knowledge, skills and abilities consistent with acceptable professional conduct standards while performing administrative procedures, including quality assurance practices in healthcare.

Curriculum

Total Degree Credits: 30