An optical scanner converts printed or handwritten characters into text that can be viewed by a(n):

The optical scanner that converts printed or handwritten characters into text utilizes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. OCR enables the scanning of documents and the interpretation of the textual data contained within them, transforming images of text into machine-encoded text. This allows for the text to be easily edited, searched, and stored electronically.

In the context of health insurance billing, this technology is particularly useful for digitizing paper documents, making it easier to manage patient records, billing information, and other administrative tasks efficiently. It streamlines the processing of information that was traditionally handled in paper form, ensuring better accuracy, accessibility, and organization of data.

The other options do not pertain to this specific function: while a MAC refers to a type of computer, and a POS typically refers to Point of Sale systems used for transactions, a CLI stands for Command Line Interface, which is a way to interact with software through text commands rather than visual interfaces. None of these directly relate to the conversion of printed characters into machine-readable text like OCR does.