In the United States alone, the health sciences sector employs approximately 16 million people and is expected to grow by 13% from 2022 to 2023, which is one of the fastest growing employment sectors. From managing patient records to scheduling appointments and ensuring smooth office operations, medical administrative assistants play a vital role in the healthcare ecosystem.
Introducing the Health Sciences Careers - Medical Administrative Assistant program
To prepare your learners for their healthcare careers, Certiport has developed the new Health Sciences Careers - Medical Administrative Assistant certification exam. Certifying students before they enter the world of healthcare not only empowers them with confidence in their skills, but it also allows them to earn a higher salary than their non-certified counterparts.
Dive into the certification details below.
What topics are covered on the exam?
The certification exam covers five main topics, with coordinating sub-topics:
Office procedures
- Determine the proper sequence of steps to make an appointment
- Identify the difference between emergent and non-emergent patients
- Select required patient information including, but not limited to: ID, insurance, referrals, previous medical records, form of payment, and chosen pharmacy
- Establish how patient will pay for a visit, including insurance coverage and private payment
- Given a scenario, identify which complies with HIPAA communication rules
Basic healthcare terminology
- Define common office terms including, but not limited to: all log, spreadsheet, scheduling/scheduler, encryption, electronic medical record (EMR), prescription, authorized representative (who) in-network insurance, and out of network insurance
- Distinguish between diagnostic tests and procedures
- Connect major organs to body systems and their associated medical specialists
- Understand key legal terms in the healthcare setting, such as healthcare proxies, power of attorney, ADA, patient’s rights, scope of practice, HIPAA, mandatory reporter, authorized representative, and informed consent
- Define key healthcare provider terms like pharmacist, pediatrician, psychiatrist, behavioral interventionist, oncologist, primary care physician, physician assistant/nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse/licensed vocational nurse, and registered nurse
- Identify the definition of terms for standard precautions including, but not limited to: PPE, hand hygiene, and biohazards
Basic billing knowledge
- Classify different payment sources, such as billing, coding, payments, insurance, cash, and government assistance
- Identify important components of insurance cards, like group ID number, member ID number, and RX ID
- Define various billing terms
Interpersonal communication
- Given a scenario with a patient issue, determine how to resolve or de-escalate the issue
- Given a scenario, determine when to report issues in the office
- Given a scenario, identify the presence of potential bias
Medical health records
- Give the correct procedure for handling medical records requests
- Explain how to store, maintain, and transfer data securely
- Identify when and how to dispose of sensitive documents
What are the prerequisites to certifying?
Learners who earn the Medical Administrative Assistant certification should have completed at least 150 hours of instruction and hands-on experience prior to taking this exam. No additional exam prerequisites are required to sit for the certification exam.
Is there courseware available for the exam?
To help candidates prepare to earn their certifications, Certiport has partnered with several learning courseware developers with proven track records of increasing pass rates. The exam currently has learning material available through our partner, Moore Solutions, Inc. (MSi), with more coming soon from LearnKey. Learn more about curriculum options for your classroom here.
Are there practice tests available for the exam?
Yes. Certiport offers CertPREP Practice Tests, powered by GMetrix, to help prepare learners for their certification exam. Get more details about practice tests here.
Have additional questions about the certification program? Reach out to your Certiport Territory Manager here or get more details here.