Medical administrative assistant

A medical administrative assistant

Description

Medical administrative assistants work very closely with health professionals. They provide office support such as correspondence, fixing appointments and answering queries of patients.

Excludes people performing patients treatment or medical treatment assistance.

Medical administrative assistants typically do the following duties:

  • Schedule and confirm medical appointments and receive and communicate messages for medical staff and patients
  • Enter and format electronically based medical reports and correspondence and prepare spreadsheets and documents for review
  • Interview patients in order to complete forms, documents and case histories
  • Complete insurance and other claim forms
  • Initiate and maintain confidential medical files and records
  • Prepare draft agendas for meetings and take, transcribe and distribute minutes
  • Prepare financial statements and billing
  • Establish and maintain various internal office administrative support procedures such as document tracking and filing and monthly reporting
  • Order supplies and maintain inventory
  • Determine and establish office procedures and routines
  • May supervise and train other staff in procedures and in use of current software.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to medical administrative assistant:

health services administrative assistant
medical institution administrative assistant
PA
medical institution personal assistant
secretary in medical institution
healthcare assistant
medical assistant
healthcare secretary
personal assistant
medical PA
medical receptionist
administrative assistant in medical institution

Minimum qualifications

A high school diploma or equivalent is generally the minimum required to work as a medical administrative assistant, as well as a computer literacy, especially with tools from the Microsoft Office suite.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Medical administrative assistant is a Skill level 3 occupation.

Medical administrative assistant career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to medical administrative assistant.

medical records clerk
chiropractic assistant
medical transcriptionist
clinical coder
medical records manager

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of medical administrative assistant. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of medical administrative assistant with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

defence administration officer
specialist biomedical scientist
animal assisted therapist
civil service administrative officer
orthoptist

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of medical administrative assistant.

  • Clinical reports: The methods, assessment practices, credentials and opinions gathering procedures necessary for writing clinical reports.
  • Administrative tasks in a medical environment: The medical administrative tasks such as registration of patients, appointment systems, record keeping of patients information and repeated precribing.
  • Medical informatics: The processes and tools used for the analysis and dissemination of medical data through computerized systems.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of medical administrative assistant.

  • Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
  • Answer patients’ questions: Respond in a friendly and professional manner to all inquiries from current or potential patients, and their families, of a healthcare establishment.
  • Maintain healthcare user data confidentiality: Comply with and maintain the confidentiality of healthcare users` illness and treatment information.
  • Collect healthcare user’s general data: Collect qualitative and quantitative data related to the healthcare user’s anagraphic data and provide support on filling out the present and past history questionnaire and record the measures/tests performed by the practitioner.
  • Manage personnel agenda: Schedule and confirm appointments for the personnel of the office, mostly managers and directive employees, with external parties.
  • Use communication techniques: Apply techniques of communication which allow interlocutors to better understand each other and communicate accurately in the transmission of messages.
  • Send medical samples: Send samples containing the accurate information to the medical laboratory for testing.
  • Type on electronic devices: Type fast and flawless on electronic devices such as computers in order to ensure a quick and accurate data entry.
  • Apply organisational techniques: Employ a set of organisational techniques and procedures which facilitate the achievement of the goals set. Use these resources efficiently and sustainably, and show flexibility when required.
  • Communicate by telephone: Liaise via telephone by making and answering calls in a timely, professional and polite manner.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of medical administrative assistant. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Insurance law: The law and legislation concerning the policies of transferring risks or losses from one party, the insured, to another, the insurer, in exchange for a periodic payment. This includes the regulation of insurance claims and the business of insurance.
  • Medical terminology: The meaning of medical terms and abbreviations, of medical prescriptions and various medical specialties and when to use it correctly.
  • Transcription methods: The methods to quickly transcribe spoken language into text, such as stenography.
  • Professional documentation in health care: The written standards applied in the health care professional environments for documentation purposes of one`s activity.
  • Pathology: The components of a disease, the cause, mechanisms of development, morphologic changes, and the clinical consequences of those changes.
  • Types of insurance: The various types of risk or loss transfer policies that exist and their characteristics, such as health insurance, car insurance or life insurance.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of medical administrative assistant. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Use a computer: Utilise computer equipment or digital devices to facilitate quality control, data management, and communication. Follow instructions given by a computer programme, create computer files or documents.
  • Show responsibility: Accept responsibility and be accountable for professional decisions of yourself or others as part of a job or one’s role.
  • Monitor billing procedures: Oversee that the billing procedure after a service is handled correctly.
  • Order supplies: Command products from relevant suppliers to get convenient and profitable products to purchase.
  • Coordinate events: Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
  • Allocate bills: Prepare and issue bills to clients and debtors taken from the accounts receivable of the financial statements. Disclose the amount to pay, the due date, taxing information, and additional details as necessary.
  • Handle paperwork: Handle work-related paperwork ensuring that all relevant requirements are met.
  • Organise travel arrangements for staff: Plan all arrangements for business travels including preparing schedules and booking transportation, dinners and accommodation.
  • Record treated patient’s information: Record information accurately relating to the progress of the patient during therapy sessions.
  • Analyse insurance needs: Gather information about the insurance needs of a client, and give information and advice about all possible insurance options.
  • Manage healthcare users’ data: Keep accurate client records which also satisfy legal and professional standards and ethical obligations in order to facilitate client management, ensuring that all clients’ data (including verbal, written and electronic) are treated confidentially.
  • Process medical insurance claims: Contact the patient`s health insurance company and submit the appropriate forms with information on the patient and treatment.
  • Record healthcare users’ billing information: Record the healthcare user`s information for the billing of provided medical services.
  • Fill out forms: Fill out forms of a different nature with accurate information, legible calligraphy, and within a timely manner.
  • Fix meetings: Fix and schedule professional appointments or meetings for clients or superiors.
  • Comply with legislation related to health care: Comply with the regional and national legislation that is relevant to one`s work and apply it in practice.
  • Listen actively: Give attention to what other people say, patiently understand points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times; able to listen carefully the needs of customers, clients, passengers, service users or others, and provide solutions accordingly.
  • Work in a multicultural environment in health care: Interact, relate and communicate with individuals from a variety of different cultures, when working in a healthcare environment.
  • Communicate in foreign languages with health service providers: Apply foreign languages in communicating with health service providers such as doctors and nurses.
  • Plan schedule: Develop the schedule including procedures, appointments and working hours.
  • Manage accounts: Manage the accounts and financial activities of an organisation, supervising that all the documents are correctly maintained, that all the information and calculations are correct, and that proper decisions are being made.
  • Work in multidisciplinary health teams: Participate in the delivery of multidisciplinary health care, and understand the rules and competences of other healthcare related professions.
  • Transcribe dialogues: Transcribe dialogues accurately and quickly.

ISCO group and title

3344 – Medical secretaries


References
  1. Medical administrative assistant – ESCO
  2. Medical Administrative Assistant in Ontario | Job Description – Job Bank
  3. Medical Administrative Assistant Job Description – Betterteam
  4. Featured image: Photo by Cedric Fauntleroy from Pexels
Last updated on February 24, 2023

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