Ready for a health care career you love? Become the pivot person for a health care team as an in-demand Health Unit Coordinator.
Health Unit Coordinators form the center of any high-functioning health care team. With no clinical (patient care) duties, Health Unit Coordinators provide indirect patient care by handling clerical duties and ordering supplies, managing physician orders, ordering tests and treatments, maintaining patient and unit records, answering questions and serving as a liaison between doctors, nursing and other health care professionals.
The Health Unit Coordinator program at Anoka Technical college is great for working parents and anyone who wants an in-demand health care career. Completely online, the program offers flexible 8-week blocks, full- and part-time options and four starts per year: January, March, August and November.
Program offered completely online with part-time options
Rewarding health care career
High growth rate compared to other careers in Minnesota
Potential Jobs:
- Health Unit Coordinator
- Medical Secretary
- Medical Receptionist
Salary Information:
Median Wage: $22.94
Top Earners: $23.97
Information provided is for Minnesota. See current data at careerwise.minnstate.edu.
Program Details
The Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) provides exceptional customer service to patients and visitors through welcoming behaviors, effective communication, and information sharing. HUCs work as part of a team often under the supervision of a physician or nurse manager to ensure that documentation of patient care and progress in electronic health records software is completed accurately and efficiently. The Health Unit Coordinator certificate program at Anoka Technical College prepares students to perform the duties of a unit coordinator in a health care facility.
Upon graduation, students will be prepared to work in this position through completion of coursework in introductory computer applications, medical terminology as used in health information, and electronic health records software. Medical Office Procedures coursework provides students with more in-depth learning in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations and applications, abbreviations for various physician specialists, health care organizations, and hospital departments as well as concepts of effective communication. Through critical thinking curriculum, students will develop an understanding of the workplace behaviors necessary to be a positive team member in a professional workplace and how time-management and prioritizing skills are crucial to effectively managing workflow. Practice Management software training takes students through a complete cycle of scenarios from entering new patient information through batch-cycle billing.
- Demonstrate knowledge of medical terminology and abbreviations as used in health information.
- Articulate HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and patient confidentiality requirements and necessity of use.
- Differentiate between hospital departments, medical specialties, and health care organizations.
- Utilize computer software, including Electronic Health Records software, to effectively and efficiently process patient and department/unit information and communications.
- Apply the behaviors critical for performing as a positive, contributing member of a health care team.
- Employ time management and critical thinking skills necessary to prioritize needs to effectively manage work flow according to department policies, procedures, and standards.
- Demonstrate the use of critical thinking skills to analyze and solve business problems by demonstrating the ability to define problems, find relevant information, synthesize and evaluate information, and implement decisions.
- Develop and evaluate customer service skills by ascertaining the characteristics of a customer service organization and using customer service skills in servicing customers professionally.
The Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) is responsible for coordinating non-clinical operations and facilitates communication between staff, patients, families and care providers, and between the unit and other departments.
Potential locations for employment include hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, insurance companies, private physician practices, public health clinics, rehab centers, and more. The HUC role involves a wide range of responsibilities that vary based on the medical setting.
A HUC must possess professionalism in both appearance and interaction with others as well as provide exceptional customer service to patients and visitors. They must demonstrate the ability to work quickly in a fast-paced patient care setting and work accurately and efficiently with attention to details while maintaining patient confidentiality. HUCs must be able to utilize computer software including Electronic Health Records software, possess knowledge of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules and patient confidentiality requirements, and knowledge of medical terminology as used in health information. They must also demonstrate excellent organizational and communication skills with ability to focus on keeping effective work flow. Possessing strong interpersonal skills and attributes of a team player are a must for a Health Unit Coordinator position.
Wage information is available from the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Program Sequence
| First Semester | 16 | |
|---|---|---|
| ADSC 1003 | Introduction to Keyboarding and Speedbuilding | 2 |
| ADSC 1055 | Electronic Health Records | 2 |
| ADSC 1283 | Medical Office Procedures | 4 |
| COMP 1002 | Computer Technologies for Communication | 2 |
| HITM 1110 | Medical Terminology in Health Information | 3 |
| INTS 1000 | Critical Thinking Applications | 3 |
Students can choose to complete the Office Specialist programs part-time. Part-time students will take longer to complete their program than students who follow the full-time sequence. Because every course may not be offered each semester, it is important for part-time students to reach out to their faculty advisor for help in planning their long-term, part-time course sequence.
Below, new students can find the first semester part-time course options. After the first semester, work with your faculty advisor to plan future semesters.
First Semester Course Options
ADSC 1003, COMP 1002, INTS 1000
Options differ depending on whether you plan to start in the fall or spring semester.
Faculty
Enrollment Services
EnrollmentServices@anokatech.edu
763-576-7710
Current Students
Students must earn a cumulative 2.0 GPA or higher to be eligible for graduation from this program.
Start Dates:
Fall semester: August, November
Spring semester: January, March
Upcoming Events:
Deb Catlett
DCatlett@anokatech.edu
Darla Cullen
DCullen@anokatech.edu
Enrollment Services
EnrollmentServices@anokatech.edu
763-576-7710
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