What Is a Medical Administrative Assistant?

If you’re interested in a career in the medical field, you should consider allied health. Allied health professionals are members of health care teams who provide a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic and direct patient care and support services that are critical to the other health professionals they work with and the patients they serve. But what type of allied health role should you pursue? Consider a career as a medical administrative assistant.

Medical Administrative Assistant Job Description

Medical administrative assistants work in medical offices. In fact, they are likely the first people you meet when you visit the office. They function like medical secretaries who perform administrative duties such as coordinating appointments and managing inventory.

An important role of the medical administrative assistant is to act as a liaison, or coordinator, between the medical staff and the patient. Medical assistants are often responsible for explaining to the patient any upcoming procedure, answers patient’s questions about medical procedures, and relates information both to and from the attending doctor. For this reason, good communication and interpersonal skills are absolutely vital for Medical assistants. Medical administrative assistants should also be very organized, have the ability to multitask, and be able to work both independently and as part of a team.

Medical Administrative Assistant Duties and Responsibilities

Here are some of the typical duties of a Medical Administrative Assistant:

• Greeting patients
• Answering telephones
• Handling correspondence
• Scheduling appointments
• Arranging for hospital admission and laboratory services
• Updating and filing patients’ medical records
• Filling out insurance forms
• Handling billing and bookkeeping

Medical Administrative Assistant Skills

If you want to be a successful medical administrative assistant, you must master these skills:

• Scheduling
• Medical billing
• Patient communication
• Data entry
• Medical terminology
• Computer proficiency

Where Do Medical Administrative Assistants Work?

Medical administrative assistants work in a variety of healthcare settings, but you’re most likely to find them in the following medical offices:

• physician offices
• surgical hospitals
• dentist offices
• outpatient centers

The first step towards a rewarding career as a Medical Administrative Assistant is to attend a quality training program through an accredited institution. Founded in 1941 as the National School of Business, National American University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. NAU offers Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral online degree programs. To learn more about NAU and our programs, or to begin the enrollment process, call us at (855) 448-2318. Our friendly and helpful Admissions Representatives are waiting to help you. Don’t put your future on hold any longer, make your goals a reality with NAU!

NAU’s program prepares students for this career through a combination of lecture and laboratory sessions. Courses include Medical Law & Ethics, ?Medical Record Management, and Healthcare Coding. Graduates of NAU’s program are thoroughly prepared to test for the industry-recognized Medical Assistant National Certification by the NCCT. To learn more about this program, visit the Medical Administrative Assistant program page.