A&M will offer medical billing courses

Ophthalmic assistant classes also available

Texas A&M University-Texarkana and the Office of Extended Education and Community Development will be offering a medical billing and coding and ophthalmic assistant/optician courses in September.

The 80-hour medical billing and coding course will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, Sept. 17 through Dec. 10. Tuition is $1,899 and includes textbooks.

The course offers the skills needed to solve insurance billing problems and covers how to manually file claims (using the CPT and ICD-10 manual), complete common insurance forms and how to trace delinquent claims, appeal denied claims and use generic forms to streamline billing procedures. It covers the following areas: CPT (introduction, guidelines, evaluation and management), specialty fields (including surgery, radiology and laboratory), ICD-10 (introduction and guidelines) and basic claims processes for medical insurance and third-party reimbursements. Students will learn how to identify services and look up codes using manuals such as CPT, ICD-10 and HCPCS.

Upon course completion, students will be required to work in the field before becoming qualified to sit for national certification exams. The American Academy of Professional Coders recommends two years of work experience before taking its exams, the Certified Professional Coder Exam or the Certified Outpatient Coder Exam. The American Health Information Association requires a minimum six months’ experience before taking the Certified Coding Associate exam.

The 11-week ophthalmic assistant/ optician training course will be held 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 4 through Dec. 6.

The course will feature 60 hours of classroom instruction at A&MTexarkana and 40 hours of lab work in a local eye care facility. The class will help students obtain the skills needed to work as a member of an ophthalmic or optometric eye care team.

“We are excited to once again offer this fantastic training opportunity,” said Shelley Caraway, executive director of Extended Education and Community Development at A&MTexarkana. “Employment opportunities are growing. Doctors are looking for qualified applicants.”

Students who complete the course will be qualified to find employment in the eye care field. After students have accumulated the required amount of work hours, they will be able to sit for the Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Exam.

The cost of the course and materials is $2,025.

For registration and additional information on either course, contact Caraway at eecd@tamut.edu.