We’re the Number One Medical Billing Blog!!!

by

We’re the Number One Medical Billing Blog

It is with a great sense of accomplishment that I am able to share with you, our readers and students of medical billing, medical coding, medical office assistant (and all other courses of study at Allen School) that our humble blog has been named the Number One medical billing blog by World Wide Learn. World Wide Learn is an online resource for the educational needs of today’s students.  They recently put together a list of the top 10 blogs for medical billing and named us number one!!!  According to WorldWideLearn,
“Medical billing offers opportunities whether an individual is just starting a career or already employed but looking for an alternative path. Medical records management provides jobs for people who are interested in health care but prefer office work to hands-on, clinical patient care. Based on our opinions, we at WorldWideLearn.com believe these blogs share informative insights for both aspiring technicians and specialists who are currently employed in medical billing”
Then they had some very nice things to say about the blogging coverage we work so hard to provide to not only our medical billing and coding students but also to our certified nursing assistant program students and all others at Allen School.  So please join me in hoisting a virtual, celebratory pint for having been recognized for excellence.  And get used to the feeling because as an Allen School grad, you’ll be regarded in the same positive light!  

Best Places to Live After Medical Assistant School

by
US MapWhether you’re at Allen School to study medical assisting, the certified nursing assistant course or medical billing and coding  online, you’ll graduate with the ability to write your own career ticket in any locale you’d like to live.  The medical field is predicted to produce some of the highest, most consistent numbers of positions over the next ten years and beyond.  That means as a new medical assistant, certified nursing assistant or medical billing and coding specialist, you’ll be more or less able to live wherever you choose and find gainful employment. CNBC recently put out a list of the top 10 best states to live in 2012.  So if you’re graduating this year and feel like the time is right to explore living elsewhere, take a look at the slideshow/list here and decide where you’d like to begin your exciting new career as a medical assistant, certified nursing assistant or medical billing and coding pro.

Medical Billing and Coding Training in Summer’s Swelter

by
Trying to complete your medical billing and coding training during the height of the summer’s heat and other distractions is as hard.  Its equally hard for people working on other projects from earning a certified nursing assistant degree to focusing on the needs of patients while working in a medical office.  The tendency is to want to slow down, or even take some time away from studies/work to go loaf at the pool, or in the air condition somewhere.  In fact, recent studies indicate that worker productivity slumps by as much as 20% in the summer months. The cool geeks over at www.lifehacker.com put together a “how to” piece, full of tips on how to maintain high levels of productivity in spite of seasonal distractions. The list includes advice ranging from changing the thermostat setting to switching up your work routine to working during different hours.  Not all of these may be feasible for those who’ve completed their medical billing and coding training and now maintain set working hours in a medical office.  However for students still studying medical billing and coding, certified nursing assistant training or any of the other courses offered here at the Allen School, these suggestions may just be what the doctor ordered.  Click here to read LifeHacker’s interesting article and sound off in the comments about how you beat the heat and stay focused on the work all summer long.

Doctors, Nursing Assistants, Medical Pros Blast Olympic Sponsors

by
The Allen School blog frequently covers the topic of unhealthy foods, junk foods and especially egregious examples of such.  Nursing assistants are among the medical professionals who witness, first hand, the negative effects these horrible foods have on the health of their patients.  I bet few of the men and women taking the nursing assistant training course at Allen School are going to be anything but shocked when they’re confronted with the ailments that arise from morbid obesity.  But those doctors, nurses and nurses assistants already on the job in the UK have seen it (just as their counterparts here in the US have.)  And this is why they’re speaking out against the leading sponsorship role played by McDonald’s and Coca-Cola in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in London. It seems their outrage has fallen upon sympathetic ears among the London Assembly.  Established in 2000, the London Assembly is an elected body that monitors the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power to amend the mayor’s annual budget.  As such, they have a good deal of influence over happenings in London and they’ve called for the International Olympic Committee to adopt strict  criteria for Olympic sponsors.  Such criteria would exclude companies like Mickey D’s and Coke from sponsoring the Olympics on the grounds that they are both products that perpetuate the global obesity epidemic.  An event that awards the competitors who display top physical condition and athletic prowess, the Olympics (in the opinion of the London Assembly) should not be sponsored by companies whose products contribute significantly to poor physique and lagging athleticism. As future nursing assistants, what are your thoughts on this controversy?  I mean, we all enjoy a Big Mac and a Coke from time to time and McDonald’s and Coke have long been leading sponsors of the Olympic Games.  But should the health implications of fast food be factored into the decision over who sponsors the Olympics?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

Happy 4th of July from Allen School Blog

by
Allen School Fourth of JulyWhether you’re studying medical billing and coding, taking medical office assistant training or our certified nursing assistant course, you’re taking a great step towards your own personal career independence.  So let’s celebrate independence as we wish America happy birthday.  See you next week!

Online Medical Billing School Warns of Malware Risk

by
Whether you’re a student studying medical billing and coding online with the Allen School or a ground school student who uses their computer to help in their studies in other areas like our certified nursing assistant course or medical assistant training, you need to know the following.  The FBI has identified a real, widespread virus threat that may render millions of computers unable to access the Internet as of this coming Monday, July 9, 2012.  Evidently, a piece of malicious software has been circulating for more than a year and has many computers infected already.  The malware is not noticeable right now on infected machines, but is set to “awaken” on Monday 7/9. You can run a simple test for free at a site paid for by the FBI.  Here’s a link to the site where you can select your language and run the test to detect if your machine has been infected.  I would imagine if you’re an Allen School alumnus currently employed in medical offices as a medical billing and coding specialist, certified nursing assistant or medical office assistant, you would be a hero to your employer if you bring this to their attention and show them how to run this simple test on their office computers.  You can take credit for it.  I won’t say anything.  

Medical Assistant Skills – Multitasking Shouldn’t Be One of Them

by
Medical Assistant MultitaskingSo you would think that as a student pursuing medical assistant certification, one of the most important skills you’d need to develop is multitasking.  After all a medical assistant is going to have to work in a very busy and sometimes unpredictable environment.  So being able to multitask is probably a good idea no?  Well, according to researcher Zhen Wang, there is absolutely no benefit to multitasking or doing several tasks at the same time.  While doing so may make us feel more productive, Wang’s studies showed the opposite was true and that multitasking almost always led to worse work outcomes.  For a medical assistant, there is not alot of room for goof ups.  Clifford Nass, a researcher at Stanford performed research that also confirmed the fact that people who multitask do not develop improved skills in the  areas of memory or information filtering.  You can read a good shakedown of both Wang and Nass’s research in this article at Lifehacker.com.  For those seeking medical assistant education, the old maxim Momma used to say is still the best advice: Do one thing and do it well.

The Medical Assistant of Tomorrow

by

I found this excellent chart courtesy of BoingBoing.net.  Originally featured in an editorial in  the New England Journal of Medicine, the chart demonstrates just how far medicine has come in the last 100 years.  Not only are far fewer people dying per capital of disease, but so many afflictions, diseases and disorders have been cured.  This is an amazing recent record of achievement, discovery and improvements in technology and human knowledge.  As medicine has taken this quantum leap, medical office personnel – certified nursing assistants and medical assistants have been an instrumental part of the process.  Its interesting to think what the roles, functions and duties of CNAs and medical assistants may have looked like 100 years ago.  Or what nursing assistant training programs may have consisted of?  Likely, the difference would be about as dramatic as the difference in this chart.

The Medical Assistant and the Olympic Hurdler

by
The nature of health care giving and Olympic athletics has remained unchanged for centuries.  Medical caregivers like nurses and medical office assistants have to be diligent, caring, competent, and kind to succeed.  Olympic athletes need to be conditioned, determined, and in top physical shape to find success.  Yet, the unceasing march of technology and science has had an amazing transformative effect on both these occupations.  For the modern nursing assistant, there is a world of new medical technology and practices that didn’t exist 100 years ago and which they must be educated on to be effective.  For Olympic athletes too, science has provided astounding leaps in performance.  When the first Olympic marathon took place in 1896, it was believed that such a run could be deadly for the athlete.  That year only eight of the first Olympic marathon runners finished the contest successfully.  A horse groom named Spiridon Louis from Greece won the race in 2:58:50.  112 years later In Beijing, Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya won the marathon on a sweltering day with a time of 2:06:32.  In but 100 years, the Olympic marathon winner bested the original winner’s time by 29% even despite the modern racecourse being more than 2 kilometers longer than the 1896 course. Science has been steadily improving the abilities of Olympic athletes.  In a fascinating article at Wired.com, the lengths to which scientific study has been used to enhance athletic ability are examined in depth.  Read about how US hurdle champion Lolo Jones is using a team of 20 researchers with state-of-the-art high-speed cameras to deconstruct her performance as part of her training for the upcoming Olympic games in London.  It is amazing to learn about the sophisticated science being used to make runners faster, jumpers higher, and swimmers sleeker.  The same rapid advance of science is also at work in the medical assistant field and Allen School is dedicated to turning out graduates with training in the latest and greatest medical science has to offer. Article updated December 12, 2023

Fun in the New York Sun

by
Yes Allen School students, the Summer has arrived.  Yesterday’s Summer Solstice marked the beginning of hot fun in the city.  Studying to earn your certificate in medical billing and coding or medical office assistant should always be your top priority.  BUT! – its also important to have yourself a little fun to keep that work/leisure balance.  Moreover, you need not break the bank to have a good time, even in and around expensive NYC.  The Daily News published an article revealing the more than 1000 free musical and other performance events taking place beginning today and going on over the course of the Summer. Of course there’s always the beach which is mostly free and always a great way to cool down.   This Saturday is the famous Mermaid Parade on Coney Island which is free, fun and comes with a heaping side order of sun, sand and surf.  Here’s a link to all the latest info on happenings on Coney Island. For a list of alot of free music events in New York City visit: makemusicny.org.  If you know of low-to no-cost events around the 5 boros, feel free to share them with your classmates in the comments section below.  Most of all remember as the Summer heats up, Stay Cool Allen School!