This text is designed to meet the needs of students in medical assisting who are studying the administrative portion of the curriculum, as well as students in transcription, coding, and related programs. This competency-based textbook provides a wealth of guidance for administrative skills. The text covers the "front office" topics: scheduling, billing, coding, bookkeeping, office management, and insurance issues. Helpful pedagogy, including Key Terms, a Glossary, and Critical Thinking Challenges familiarize students with the material and help with problem-solving. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins' Administrative Medical Assisting now includes bonus online faculty support and tutoring services powered by Smarthinking(TM). Instructors and students can log on during designated times and "chat" directly with an experienced medical assisting educator. Instructors can get advice on topics such as lesson plans, how to present difficult topics, test questions, learning activities and more. Students can get personal tutoring and instruction to help them grasp difficult concepts.The ancillary package also includes an Instructor's Resource Kit with an Instructor's Manual and Resource CD-ROM, as well as a student study guide. Visit http://connection.LWW.com/go/molleadmin for more information.

Table of Contents

SECTION I: INTRO TO MEDICAL ASSISTING Unit 1: Understanding the Profession Chapter 1: Medicine and Medical Assisting Chapter 2: Law and Ethics Unit 2: Communicating with Patients Chapter 3: Fundamental Communication Skills Chapter 4: Teaching Patients SECTION II: THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Unit 3: Performing Administrative Duties Chapter 5: First Contact: Telephone and Reception Chapter 6: Appointments Chapter 7: Written Communications Chapter 8: Medical Records and Record Management Chapter 9: Transcription Chapter 10: Computers in the Medical office Chapter 11: Quality Improvement and Risk Management Chapter 12: Management of the Medical Office Team Unit 4: Managing the Finances in the Practice Chapter 13: Credit and Collections Chapter 14: Bookkeeping and Banking Chapter 15: Accounts Payable and Payroll Chapter 16: Health Insurance Chapter 17: Outpatient Diagnostic Coding Chapter 18: Outpatient Procedural Coding SECTION III: CAREER STRATEGIES Unit 5: Competing in the Job Market Chapter 19: Externship and Employment Back of book CD-ROM: Interactive Case Studies

Managing an office emergency Patient education and handling communication barriers HIPAA, ethics and patient confidentiality Handling the medical records