What Are the Duties of an Administrative Medical Assistant?
Are you interested in working in the medical field, but you don't want to work in a clinical setting? Are you more adept at handling organizational and clerical duties than performing hands-on medical procedures? If so, a career as an administrative medical assistant may be right for you. Read on to find out about the common duties and responsibilities, alternate job titles, and educational requirements of an administrative medical assistant.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
<p>As an administrative medical assistant, you are responsible for keeping the offices of health practitioners running smoothly and acting as an essential link between doctors and patients. You will typically be the first person that a patient interacts with when they go into a doctor's office or call a hospital.
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<p>You may be in charge of coding medical diagnoses and procedures, scheduling patient examinations, and mailing patient correspondence. You may bill insurance companies and manage medical records. You might also help doctors and physicians complete reports, write journal articles, compose speeches, and perform other non-clinical tasks.
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<h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutAdministrativeMedicalAssistants"> Important Facts About Administrative Medical Assistants</h3>
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<table border="1"><tr><td> Median Salary (2021) </td><td> $38,190 (<i>for all medical assistants</i>)*</td></tr>
<tr><td> Job Outlook (2021-2031) </td><td> 16% growth (<i>for all medical assistants</i>)*</td></tr>
<tr><td> Key Skills </td><td> Attention to detail, analytical knowledge, technical ability, interpersonal communication</td></tr>
<tr><td> Similar Occupations </td><td> Chiropractic assistants, clinical assistants, administrative clerks, office managers, administrative aide</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
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<h3 id="section---AdministrativeVs.ClinicalMedicalAssistants"> Administrative vs. Clinical Medical Assistants</h3>
<p>Your main duties as an administrative medical assistant typically revolve around clerical and office-related tasks, while a clinical medical assistant may specialize in performing some routine medical diagnostic procedures. These procedures may require additional training or state licensure, so administrative medical assistants are generally not legally allowed to perform them.
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<p>Many medical assistants - especially those in smaller hospitals - are in charge of both administrative and clinical responsibilities, but larger hospitals will often differentiate between the two.
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<h3 id="section---AlternateJobTitles"> Alternate Job Titles</h3>
<p>The term administrative medical assistant can refer to a specific job title, but it can also act as an occupational category. Medical secretaries and receptionists, surgery schedulers, insurance billers, medical coders, and many other clerical healthcare positions may fall under the category of administrative medical assistant.
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<h3 id="section---EducationalRequirements"> Educational Requirements</h3>
<p>An administrative medical assistant faces similar educational requirements as other medical assistants. Most positions require a high school diploma, and most formal training occurs on the job; however, many diploma, certificate, and associate's degree programs are available to provide you with the basic skills and knowledge necessary to find employment as an administrative medical assistant.
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<p>These programs combine clerical training in areas like accounting, medical transcription, computer applications, and keyboarding with health science concepts, such as medical terminology, ethics, and coding.</p>