What does a medical office assistant do?
A medical office assistant will work in a doctor’s office, hospital or medical clinic performing administrative duties. They will work closely with doctors and nurses to schedule patients and make sure that the office is running smoothly. A lot of what a medical office assistant does is interact with patients. They will greet them and check them in for their appointments as well as make sure their information is up to date. If any forms need to be filled out, the medical office assistant will help patients with this task. They also perform general office duties such as ordering supplies and making photocopies.
Medical office assistant skills and qualifications
A successful medical office assistant will have the following skills and qualifications:
- scheduling patients’ appointments to see doctors or nurses
- entering and formatting electronically based medical reports and handling any correspondence between medical professionals
- interviewing patients in order to complete forms or other documents that are needed for the doctor or nurse
- being able to prepare financial statements and billing, including being able to administer provincial health insurance plans
- determining and establishing office procedures and routines
Medical office assistant experience requirements
Medical office assistants need to have extensive experience dealing with patients and scheduling appointments. They also need to be able to communicate well with doctors and nurses, including handling correspondence between different medical clinics. A medical office assistant must have experience with maintaining confidential medical files and records as well as having an understanding of different medical documents patients need to fill out. They also need to know administrative duties such as ordering supplies, maintaining inventory and preparing financial statements and billing.
Medical office assistant education and training requirements
A medical office assistant must have a high school diploma as well as a one or two-year college program in office administration or medical office administration. Some provinces require medical office assistants to have a professional licence so it is important to know local training and education requirements as well.
Medical office assistants’ salary expectation
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a medical office assistant is $19.33 per hour. Salaries for a medical office assistant are dependent on experience, location and company.
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Medical office assistant job description FAQs
What qualities make a good medical office assistant?
A good medical office assistant will be very organized and be able to schedule all patients’ appointments in an efficient manner. They will have good communication skills being able to communicate well with doctors, nurses and patients. Medical office assistants should also be able to do administrative work such as organizing the office, ordering supplies and maintaining confidential files.
What are the day-to-day duties of a medical office assistant?
On a day-to-day basis, a medical office assistant will interact with patients, making them appointments and helping them with filling in medical forms. They will also communicate with the doctors and nurses making sure that medical reports are sent out and filled appropriately. They will also be in charge of office administration duties making sure that supplies are ordered and the inventory is taken care of.
What should you look for in a medical office assistant’s resume?
Medical office assistants should have a lot of experience in customer service as they will be in charge of interacting with patients. They should also have experience interacting with doctors and understand how to fill in basic medical documentation. Medical office assistants also need to understand billing and know how to maintain confidential files.
What makes a good medical office assistant job description?
A good medical office assistant job description would emphasize the need to be proficient at customer service. It would also talk a bit about the office environment as medical office assistants can work in doctors’ offices, medical clinics or hospitals and applicants would need to know what environment to expect.