The Medical Administrative Assistant Profession

A medical administrative assistant provides administrative assistance to medical staff and they keep the medical office running efficiently.

Medical administrative assistants usually work at the front desk of a clinic, hospital, and other medical offices and facilities. They perform a wide variety of duties, and they sometimes perform several of these duties all at the same time. Because of this, proper education and training and/or an equivalent experience is required to be able to get into this kind of profession.

Duties And Responsibilities

The basic tasks of a medical administrative assistant includes answering and transferring phone calls, handling correspondence, filing and updating patients’ medical histories, filling out insurance forms, scheduling patients’ appointments, and arranging laboratory services and hospital admissions. They may also have to assist physicians with reports, speeches, articles, conference proceedings, and laboratory procedures or exams. In addition to these tasks, they also have to order supplies, transcribe dictation, and perform third-party billing.

Work Environment

Medical assistants work in a clean and well-lighted environment. They usually have a regular schedule of 40 hours a week. Some of them may only work part time, which can be in the evening or on weekends. Aside from hospitals and clinics, they can also be found working at community health centers. The nature of their job can vary depending on the type of healthcare facility that they work in. Medical assistants also interact with other people on a regular basis.

Education And Training

Medical administrative assisting programs are offered at community and junior colleges, vocational or technical high schools, and postsecondary vocational schools. An individual who wants to become a medical administrative assistant can choose to get an associate degree or they can take a postsecondary program, which usually lasts a year. A certificate will be obtained upon finishing the postsecondary program. Courses typically cover medical terminology, physiology, anatomy, transcription, accounting and recordkeeping, plus insurance processing. Students will also learn clinical and diagnostic procedures, laboratory techniques, first aid, pharmaceutical principles and the administration of medications.

Certification

Certification is not always required, although it generally increases the employment opportunities of a medical administrative assistant as well as their chances of getting hired. Certification can be obtained through various associations. The two most known associations that award certification are the AAMA (American Association of Medical Assistants) and AMT (Association of Medical Technologists).

Earnings

The earnings of medical administrative assistants differ, depending on their skill level, experience, location, and the medical office they work in. The middle 50% earns between $23,000 and $33,000 while the lowest 10% and highest 10% earns less than $20,000 and more than $39,000 respectively. Those who work in general medical and surgical hospitals get paid the highest. Next are those who work in professional schools, colleges, and universities. This is then followed by medical assistants working in offices of physicians and outpatient care centers.

Job Outlook

The medical assistant profession is one of the fastest growing occupations, with plenty of job opportunities for those with the proper education, training, experience and/or certification that is required for this field. Employment in this area is expected to grow 34% by 2018.