Medical Programs
Health Unit Coordinator
Medical Claims Processor
Medical Coder
Pharmacy Technician

Health Unit Coordinator
Health Unit Coordinators (HUC) coordinate patient services in health care facilities. They function under the supervision of an RN responsible for the management of a nursing unit. Health Unit Coordinators are crucial to the communications within the health care unit. They initiate records for new patients, record abbreviations and symbols appropriately, transcribe physicians' orders, perform clerical functions for admission, discharge and transfer of patients, maintain unit supplies, and communicate with other departments by way of telephone, intercom, pagers, tube systems and computer.
 
Training: 360 didactic hours, 30 hours per week Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 2:55 PM, 160 externship hours as scheduled by site.

Requirements of Job

• Ability to keep patient information confidential
• Positive interaction with patients and co-workers
• Flexibility
• Ability to perform diverse tasks and duties including:
  • filing and record management
  • keyboarding
  • use of various software packages
  • transcription or composition of written communications
  • scheduling appointments
• Good written and oral communications skills and telephone etiquette
• Knowledge of medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology
• Willingness to invest in lifetime learning in the ever changing area of medical and hospital procedures, tests, diseases, and medications
• Self-starter with the ability to make sound decisions

Job Possibilities

• Inpatient, outpatient and same day surgery hospital nursing units

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Medical Claims Processor
Changes in health care management and delivery have increased the demand for professionals trained in processing the payment of claims submitted to medical insurance carriers by health care providers. In this 30-week program, you'll develop the knowledge needed to analyze claims and coordinate claims processing in compliance with applicable federal, state and insurance laws. Your studies will prepare you for entry-level insurance claims processor/preparer positions with hospitals, physicians, clinics and insurance companies.

Training: 900 hours, 30 hours per week, Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 2:55 PM.

Requirements of Job

• Ability to maintain patient confidentiality
• Good vision/corrected vision
• Proficient keyboard skills and knowledge of multiple software packages
• Fast and accurate calculations using a ten-key calculator
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Ability to assign diagnostic and procedural codes from manuals and/or electronic encoder
• Knowledge of medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology
• Billing: including third party payor (insurance) processing, accounts receivable/payable
• Willingness to invest in a lifetime of learning in the ever-changing medical insurance and billing fields
  
• Ability to work independently while maintaining a high level of accuracy, attention to detail and productivity

Job Possibilities

• Hospital or Physician's Office Billers
• Insurance Claims Processors/Preparers
• Medical Insurance Customer Service
• Billing Services

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Medical Coder
Trained health system coders are in demand today at hospitals, physician offices and billing services. This 38-week program gives you the technical skills needed to analyze medical records and properly assign the correct codes to medical diagnoses and procedures. Your courses will include medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, ICD-9-CM and CPT coding, pathophysiology and specialized computer skills. After completing your coursework at Bidwell, you'll gain practical experience as a health system coding trainee through an eight-week externship.

Training: 900 didactic hours, 30 hours per week Monday through Friday 8:30 AM-2:55 PM, 320 externship hours as scheduled by site.

Requirements of Job

• Ability to meet productivity and accuracy levels, number of charts per day to be coded
• Independent worker (sedentary)
  
• Use of keyboard, monitor and multiple software packages
  
• Ability to assign diagnostic and procedural codes from manuals and/or electronic encoder
  
• Knowledge of medical terminology, human anatomy, physiology and pathology
  
• Ability to analyze patients' medical records and extract pertinent information
  
• Memorization of product and generic name, storage requirements and auxiliary labeling
  
• Ability to identify primary and secondary diagnoses and assign DRG category
  
• Ability to work with physicians and other healthcare professionals
  
• Data entry skills for abstracting
  
• Decision making skills
  
• Willingness to invest in lifetime learning in ever-changing area of medical codes and coding procedures
  
• Knowledge of billing and health insurance theory

Job Possibilities

• Healthcare settings where medical records are maintained, inpatient and outpatient hospital departments or physician offices

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Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians assist registered pharmacists in filling prescriptions, completing paperwork and a variety of other duties. During the second half of didactic training, youÕll volunteer at a community/retail pharmacy for six hours per week. After completing 30 weeks of lecture and lab classes in the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) approved program, you'll participate in an additional 6-week externship, receiving hands-on experience in institutional/hospital pharmacy procedures. Courses will include pharmacology, pharmacy laboratory techniques, basic algebra, human anatomy and physiology, and computer training.

Pretraining 60 hours; Training: 900 didactic hours, 30 hours per week Monday through Friday 8:30 AM-2:55 PM, 240 externship hours as scheduled by site.

Requirements of Job

• Ability to work in a professional environment
  
• Ability to stand for eight-hour day
  
• Good communications and customer service skills
  
• Ability to use a computer to perform pharmacy - related functions
  
• Understanding of job responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and how they differ
  
• Ability to perform diverse tasks and duties including:
  • Fractional equations and proportions
  • Keyboarding
  • Percentages
  • Formulas
  • Computation of medication dosages and preparation of solutions
    
• Memorization of product and generic name, storage requirements and auxiliary labeling
  
• Good problem solving skills
  
• Interpretation of prescription, identification of correct drug product and route of administration, preparation of label and appropriate container
  
• Maintaining and stocking pharmaceutical supplies, receiving and shelving merchandise and processing insurance claims and other paperwork
  
• Compounding ointments, reconstituting powders and mixing liquids
  
• Preparation of parenteral solutions using aseptic technique
  
• Willingness to invest in a lifetime learning in the ever changing area of medications.

Job Possibilities

• Hospitals
• Retail chains/Independents
• Home Infusion
• Mail Order
• HMO Pharmacies
• Long term care facilities

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