College Catalog 2012-2013
Patient Service Representative
Employment opportunities in health care are expected to continue to grow as advances in technology and changes in legislation and funding affect reimbursement and the health care delivery system. These trends require individuals to receive specialized training in front office procedures to meet the expectations of health care employers. The Patient Service Representative (PSVR) program is designed to provide the community with qualified individuals interested in working as front office specialists in ambulatory and hospital environments.
Utilizing effective time management principles to schedule appointments; demonstrating professionalism when interacting with patients, staff, and other health care providers; and efficiently collecting accurate and up-to-date patient information are skills taught in the PSVR program. Through simulations, students will experience scenarios typical of a health care environment, preparing them to meet employers’ expectations upon graduation. Customer service skills, professionalism and medical administrative, financial and reimbursement procedures are the focus of this exciting career. Graduates of the program will find employment in a variety of settings such as physicians’ offices, clinics and hospitals.
The PSVR program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to enter a degree program or to take clusters of courses and earn certificates of completion. There are three certificates of completion that will enhance a student’s employability in the health care field after attaining different levels of competency.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this program graduates will be able to:
- Demonstrate effective communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills as a patient service representative.
- Produce accurate correspondence and reports using available computer technology by applying recording, editing and language skills.
- Understand office functions as they contribute to sound business practices and procedures.
- Utilize their knowledge and experiences to competently perform the administrative procedures in a health care facility.
- Coordinate the organizing, processing and responding to electronic and paper communications to facilitate the flow of information in the medical environment.
- Produce accurate financial and billing records for the medical environment by compiling information and using appropiate software.
- Establish and maintain data management systems to organize electronic and paper records for the medical environment.
- Use database and spreadsheet software to generate required informational reports.
- Adhere to security, privacy and confidentiality policies.
- Demonstrate effective customer service interactions.
- Meet the expectations of the today's health care employers as an entry-level health professional.
Program Entry Requirements:
This program is open to all students. Students identified as need developmental course work must satisfactorily complete the appropriate English and mathematics courses as part of their degree program.
PROGRAM OF STUDY AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:
To qualify for the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Patient Service Representative, a student must complete 62 credit hours as prescribed, attain a grade point average of 2.0 and receive a grade of “C” or better in each core course and in each required pre- and corequisite course.
| PATIENT SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE COURSE SEQUENCE | |||
| Course Number and Name | Prerequisites and Corequisites | Credits | Gen Ed Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST SEMESTER | |||
| AH 103 - Medical Terminology | 3 | ||
| AH 112 - Medical Administrative Procedures | 3 | ||
| ENGL 101 - English Composition I | 3 | English 101 | |
| Lab Science - Biology | 4 | Science | |
| CIS 103 - Applied Computer Technology | 3 | Tech Comp | |
| SECOND SEMESTER | |||
| AH 116 - Interpersonal and Professional Skills in the Health Care Setting | 3 | ||
| AH 120 - Reimbursement Methodologies in Health Care | ENGL 101 | 3 | |
| AH 204 - Healthcare Law and Ethics | ENGL 101 | 3 | |
| Lab Science - Biology | 4 | ||
| ENGL 102 - The Research Paper | ENGL 101 | 3 | ENGL 102 & Info Lit |
| THIRD SEMESTER | |||
| MATH 118 - Intermediate Algebra or higher | 3 | Mathematics | |
| AH 220 - Information Management Systems in Health Care | CIS 103, AH 112 | 3 | |
| AH 190 - Human Disease and Treatment | AH 103, BIOL 107 or BIOL 109 | 3 | |
| AH 200 - Basic CPT Coding | AH 103, BIOL 107 or BIOL 109 | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| FOURTH SEMESTER | |||
| AH 260 - Supervisory Management in Health Care | AH 204 | 3 | |
| AH 222 - Health Care Policy and Administration | AH 120, AH 204 | 3 | |
| AH 224 - Current Issues and Trends in Health Care | AH 120, AH 204 | 3 | |
| Social Science Elective | 3 | Social Science | |
| Humanities Elective | 3 | Humanities | |
MINIMUM CREDITS NEEDED TO GRADUATE: 62
General Education Requirements
All General Education requirements are met through required courses (as indicated above) except for the Writing Intensive requirement and the Interpretive Studies requirement. Therefore, in order to graduate, students in this program must choose one course that is designated Writing Intensive and one course that is designated Interpretive Studies. The same course may be used to fulfill both requirements. View the courses that fulfill all degree requirements and receive a more detailed explanation of the College’s general education requirements to help in your selection.
*This course meets the College’s American Diversity requirement.
**The social science and/or humanities elective must fulfill the College’s Writing Intensive and Interpretive Studies requirement.
For More Information Contact:
The Division of Math, Science and Health Careers room W2-7, 1700 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130, Telephone (215) 751-8431; or the College Information Center (215) 751 8010.