Administrative Healthcare Assisting

Program Description
The Administrative Healthcare Assisting (AHA) Certificate program at SUNY Erie offers training in the administrative aspects of the Medical Assisting profession, preparing students for employment positions in a variety of medical and healthcare settings. The AHA program focuses on:

• building a professional vocabulary of medical terminology;
• understanding medical law and ethics for healthcare professionals including healthcare competency, equity, cultural competence, and patient navigator concepts; and
• building a foundation for navigating the MEDENT Electronic Health Record (EHR) Practice Management System to learn the standards and features of an EHR system, appointment scheduling and administrative 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, Administrative Healthcare Assisting Certificate 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 Healthcare Assisting Certificate program is to produce graduates who possess the necessary knowledge of contemporary patient-centered healthcare practices and the necessary administrative skills to be an efficient administrative healthcare assistant. A nationally recognized certification exam will be 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 program 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 options such as Health Information Technology (HIT) or Emergency Medical Technology (EMT).