The eLearning Center for Collin County Community College District

The Physician Practice - Front Office course describes the Front Office functions in a physician practice from a Pre-Encounter and Patient Encounter perspective. Pre-Encounter is defined as those activities occurring prior to the patient arriving in the office; Patient Encounter is defined as those activities occurring when the patient arrives in the office. The course expands on specific Front Office functional descriptions (such as scheduling, registration, etc.) introduced in the Revenue Cycle overview course.

Pre-encounter activities are defined as: pre-registration, scheduling, insurance verification and financial counseling. Patient encounter activities are defined as: registration and check-in, the clinical visit, check out (including point of service collections), coding, and end of day procedures. Other Front Office functions, such as credentialing, referral desk, and clerical support, are also discussed.

The course concludes with a brief discussion of the importance of standard policies and procedures governing Front Office physician practice activities.

2 Educational Contact Hours

Approved by the AAPC, NAHAM and AAHAM for 2 CEUs.