Healthcare Documentation Specialist
Admissions and Course Prerequisites:
All students entering AHDPG must submit or achieve the following:
- High School Diploma or the Equivalent, or Academic, Employer or Family Sponsorship.
- Complete the assessment associated with their respective program, as necessary.
- Maintain up-to-date information on the AHDPG Student Profile.
Orientation:
To allow a seamless beginning of the program, students are provided with login credentials to the course via email on their start date. An initial recorded orientation is provided within the online course to go over the curriculum format, goals, and expectations and to allow students to begin without delay. However, AHDPG feels that an online course should not be done in isolation and that good communication is required between students and instructors to ensure success in their programs. To that end, soon after viewing the orientation, students are provided with an “assignment” to schedule an initial one-on-one conference with the instructor (by phone or Zoom) to serve as a personal introduction, to address student questions and concerns, and to ensure that students understand that they may approach their instructor to ask for help whenever needed. AHDPG feels that developing this rapport from the very beginning is critical to student success by helping to foster good communication and support student engagement throughout the program.
Program Overview:
The course is designed to be completed in 12 months and requires a commitment of 20 hours per week. To ensure our students get the most out of the program and can make a smooth transition into the workforce, a student must follow the time requirements to complete this course within the maximum timeframe. The following timetable has been designed to ensure an optimal learning environment for students and allows our instructors to focus their attention on students’ progress. If you cannot commit 15-20 hours per week to this program, please speak with the Admissions Coordinator to determine the best course of action. A student enrolled in the program is expected to communicate with their instructor immediately should any difficulties arise that keep a student from adhering to the course schedule.
Course Layout:
The Healthcare Documentation Specialist program is a 12-month program divided into five (5) separate sections. Maintaining consistent attendance and assignment submissions is essential to learning and retaining the material and making steady progress to successfully meet program completion criteria within the course timeline.
Section 1 – Fundamentals of Healthcare Documentation
The Fundamentals of Healthcare Documentation section is designed to help you understand the field of medical transcription and the core concepts of performing optimally as a medical transcriptionist. The section includes an overview of the medical transcription industry; the tools, materials, and types of documents created by medical transcriptionists; and the basic grammar principles that provide a firm foundation for mastering the fundamentals needed to create accurate medical reports. This section also presents introductory medical terminology, concepts, combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes.
Section 2 – Medical Knowledge 1
The Medical Knowledge 1 section covers the following specialties: Laboratory, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Pharmacology, Digestive System (Gastroenterology), Urinary System (Urology), Female Reproductive System (Obstetrics and Gynecology), Male Reproductive System, Nervous System (Neurology), and Pediatrics. Students will come away with an understanding of the common tests and diagnostic procedures involved, as well as the ability to correctly define, spell, and pronounce the medical terms associated with each specialty.
Section 3 – Medical Knowledge 2
The Medical Knowledge 2 section covers the following specialties: Cardiovascular System (Cardiology), Respiratory System (Pulmonology), Blood System (Hematology), Lymphatic and Immune Systems (Immunology), Musculoskeletal System (Orthopedics), Skin (Dermatology), Sense Organs – The Eye and Ear (Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology), Endocrine System (Endocrinology), Cancer Medicine (Oncology), Psychiatry, and Surgery. Students will come away with an understanding of the common tests and diagnostic procedures involved, as well as the ability to correctly define, spell, and pronounce the medical terms associated with each specialty.
Section 4 – Advanced Healthcare Documentation
Advanced Healthcare Documentation covers advanced concepts related to performing high-quality transcription. The section is divided into three sections: Medicolegal Aspects of the Healthcare Record, Advanced Transcription, and Introduction to Speech Recognition Technology.
Medicolegal Aspects of the Healthcare Record: This unit outlines the purpose of the healthcare record as well as the content and formats commonly seen in today’s healthcare documentation. This section of the program will also establish a general knowledge of existing standards and regulations as set by a variety of organizations including AHDI, AHIMA, AMA, JCAHO, NCQA, HL7, ASTM, and CMS. A focused unit on HIPAA and HITECH is also included.
Advanced Transcription: This unit begins with an overview of word expanders, which are used by healthcare documentation specialists to enhance both accuracy and productivity. Exercises are included with the presentation to assist you in beginning your expander library.
Section 5 – The Practicum
The medical transcription practicum is an integral component of this curriculum. This is the bridge between being a student to your role in the workplace. The expected duration of The Practicum is 90 days. This section provides almost 900 minutes of authentic dictation – the audio files presented are the very same recordings dictated by a practicing medical provider at the time of a patient’s visit (with personal information deleted), having been transcribed at that time by a medical transcriptionist. This gives students experience with multiple specialties, accents, and styles representative of the work they will receive when employed.
| Section | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 | 30 |
| 2 | 90 |
| 3 | 90 |
| 4 | 60 |
| 5 | 90 |
| Total | 360 |
Grading Scale:
| Percent Range | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 95 – 100 | A |
| 90 – 94.99 | B |
| 85 – 89.99 | C |
| 0 – 84 | Failing |
Grades achieved for Sections 1 through 4 (also known as Tier 1 or “main coursework”) will be averaged together to determine eligibility for the Practicum. An average of at least 85% is required to enter the Practicum.
Composition of Grades:
The composition of grades including categories of assignments and associated weights varies by Section and can be found in the individual Section Syllabi.
To graduate, a student must achieve at least a 95% average in the Practicum. This grade is calculated separately from the rest of the coursework and includes only the work done in the Practicum.
Tuition and Fees:
The healthcare documentation specialist program is a 12-month program with a total list price of $3,745.00, with components as follows:
- Tuition fee: $2,900.00
- Books and Materials Fee: $795.00 (nonrefundable)
- Administrative Fee: $50.00 (nonrefundable)
Other Fees:
- 3% Convenience Fee (nonrefundable). Waived for direct bank draft payments.
- Extension Fee: Students requiring more time in the program than originally allocated will incur an Extension Fee. The Extension Fee will be assessed at $195 per month for students who pay upfront for their program or the monthly payment for students on the monthly payment plan.
- Missed Payment/Return Payment Fee: A $40 fee will be charged for each missed or returned payment.
- Readmission Fee: A student who leaves a program and consequently requests readmission will incur a Readmission Fee of $200.00.
- Transcript Fee: A fee of $15 will be charged for each transcript requested.
Completion Requirements
Academics – The student is required to maintain no less than 85% overall average in their coursework to proceed to the practicum portion of the program. They are required to achieve a 95% average or better on their transcription work in the practicum to graduate from the program.
Remediation – The instructor will work with each student who receives a failing grade on an assignment, offering supplemental work to improve his or her knowledge of the subject matter. Any student who is in danger of not achieving the 85% required to pass the coursework portion of the program will be counseled by the instructor and a plan for Student Improvement written. This plan will be placed in the student’s official file.
Typing Skills – A healthcare documentation specialist must work both quickly and accurately. A minimum amount of work needs to be produced daily. Because of this, students are expected to achieve a minimum typing speed of 55 wpm and a productivity rate of 75 lines per hour by the end of the program. Production testing is conducted each section to assist the student in measuring and improving typing skills.
Career Pathways:
Students who complete this program will have the knowledge needed to work as a healthcare documentation specialist (medical transcriptionist and speech recognition editor) in a wide variety of medical and surgical specialties and many work types, in either an in-house or at-home setting. This knowledge is also highly desirable in other healthcare-related occupations including but not limited to medical office staff, medical scribing, and billing and coding, leading to many opportunities upon completion of the program.
Certifications in healthcare documentation with the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) include:
- Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist (RHDS)
- Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS)