December 13, 2015 Jane O'Grady

Welcome to Allied Health

Allied Health is a broad category of professions “that delivers services involving the identification, evaluation and prevention of diseases and disorders; dietary and nutrition services; and rehabilitation and health systems management.” One category of allied health professionals would be: technicians (assistants). This part of the allied health field includes physical therapy assistants, medical laboratory technicians, radiological technicians, occupational therapy assistants, recreation therapy assistants, medical assistants, dental assistants, respiratory therapy technicians and health information and coding specialists.

There are five million allied health care providers in the United States, who work in more than 80 different professions and represent approximately 60% of all health care providers. The number of allied health care providers is likely to grow as jobs in the health care industry will grow from 15.6 million to 19.8 million between 2010 and 2020. reference 

Medical Assisting

Medical assistants work alongside physicians, mainly in outpatient or ambulatory care facilities, such as medical offices and clinics.Medical assisting is one of the nation’s fastest growing careers, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, attributing job growth to the following: Predicted surge in the number of physicians’ offices and outpatient care facilities, technological advancements, growing number of elderly Americans who need medical treatment. Medical assistants are cross-trained to perform administrative and clinical duties. more information

Health Information Management

Every time health care personnel treat a patient, they record what they observed and how the patient was treated medically.This record includes information the patient provides concerning his or her symptoms and medical history, as well as the results of examinations, reports of X-rays and laboratory tests, diagnoses and treatment plans. Increasingly, this information is maintained electronically in healthcare information systems.

Health information technicians organize, analyze and manage this health information. They ensure its quality, accuracy, accessibility and security and ensure appropriate disclosure of information in both paper and electronic systems. Technicians use various vocabularies and classification systems to analyze, code and categorize patient information for quality reporting and support clinical and business decision making at both the individual and population levels as well as for insurance reimbursement purposes, databases and registries. In addition, the health information technician is also involved in information technology and data management activities that include, but are not limited to, maintaining patients’ medical record and treatment information. more information

Faculty
Melissa Bettigole, mbettigole@nwcc.edu, 860.738.6393

 

As part of the annual review, graduates of the Medical Assisting Associate Degree Program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College reported an average 100% graduate satisfaction rate, over the past five years.