What does a medical administrative specialist do?
Medical administrative specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical administrative specialist resumes:
- Manage chart retrieval/Research/Filing and refilling of patient medical reports and charts in response to request ensuring HIPPA guidelines are meet.
- Skil in office administration, interoffice correspondence, answer incoming patients and physician referral calls, electronic scheduling and managing appointments.
- Document medical procedures and adhere to HIPAA laws.
- Fax all medical records to other offices and insurance company, by complying with HIPPA regulations.
- Perform various audit validations for pharmacy claims process for Medicaid recipients.
- Conduct epidemiological investigations, prepare reports, hold interviews, counsele patients, and treat all communicable disease.
- Carry out responsibilities in accordance with client/site policies and procedures, including HIPAA, state/federal and labor regulations relate to operations.
- Respond subpoenas for medical records.
Medical administrative specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 33% of Medical Administrative Specialists are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Medical Terminology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Writing skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Medical Administrative Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 33%
Skilled in office administration, interoffice correspondence, answer incoming patients and physician referral calls, electronic scheduling and managing appointments.
- Patient Care, 7%
Performed all aspects of administration concerning patient care.
- Medical Terminology, 5%
Received certificates in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and medical terminology.
- Medical Administration, 5%
Served as medical administration Specialist in USAF hospitals in California and Thailand.
- Word Processing, 4%
Utilized Microsoft office products for spreadsheets, word processing and database management.
- AOD, 3%
Track facility operations, events, admissions, and transfers on the AOD log.
"patients," "patient care," and "medical terminology" are among the most common skills that medical administrative specialists use at work. You can find even more medical administrative specialist responsibilities below, including:
Organizational skills. The most essential soft skill for a medical administrative specialist to carry out their responsibilities is organizational skills. This skill is important for the role because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." Additionally, a medical administrative specialist resume shows how their duties depend on organizational skills: "provide full-time medical support assistance on administrative mattersaffecting patient care, education and organizational policy.contact patients to schedule and coordinate appointments. "
Writing skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical administrative specialist duties is writing skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." According to a medical administrative specialist resume, here's how medical administrative specialists can utilize writing skills in their job responsibilities: "assisted the medical relations officer by writing correspondences and memorandums, filing, answering phone calls and performing various administrative duties. "
Interpersonal skills. medical administrative specialists are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to medical administrative specialist responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." A medical administrative specialist resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "demonstrate exceptional interpersonal and customer service communication skills while working collaboratively with medical center programs. "
The three companies that hire the most medical administrative specialists are:
- Lancaster General Health5 medical administrative specialists jobs
- Community Health Systems4 medical administrative specialists jobs
- Eleanor Health4 medical administrative specialists jobs
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Medical administrative specialist vs. Medical clerk
A medical clerk works in the administrative area of a medical facility or hospital. The medical clerk collects all patient information and medical records. The clerk also does all the clinic or hospital paperwork and generates reports of all transactions that transpired in a day's work. The medical clerk also processes admission and discharge papers, medical charts, properly file and safeguard all patient records and secure them from unauthorized access. The medical clerk is expected to be highly organized, capable of handling pressure, and has good communication skills.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between medical administrative specialists and medical clerk. For instance, medical administrative specialist responsibilities require skills such as "medical administration," "aod," "statistical reports," and "epic." Whereas a medical clerk is skilled in "data entry," "phone calls," "appointment scheduling," and "clerical support." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Medical clerks tend to reach lower levels of education than medical administrative specialists. In fact, medical clerks are 5.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrative specialist vs. Referral specialist
Referral specialists are responsible for ensuring patients are already cleared for specialty service office visits. They resolve registration, pre-certification, and case-related affairs before the client's appointment. Also, they give support to clinical staff to manage the administrative components of clinical referrals for many services. They must gather relevant information from financial counselors, insurance carriers, and other supplementary staff to make sure the patient's financial responsibility for services are provided. Additionally, they act as a liaison between the patients, physicians, hospitals, health insurance vendors, or other referral sources.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real medical administrative specialist resumes. While medical administrative specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "medical administration," "word processing," "aod," and "statistical reports," referral specialists use skills like "customer service," "pet," "data entry," and "primary care."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Referral specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than medical administrative specialists. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrative specialist vs. Administrative internship
Administrative interns are entry-level professionals providing administrative support in organizations. The interns are responsible for the improvement of their knowledge of administrative works. They should learn skills such as the company's technology, time management, detail-orientation, and written and verbal communication. They arrange appointments, executive travel, and meetings. It is also part of their job to prepare and edit reports, emails, memos, and letters. They even do clerical jobs.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from medical administrative specialist resumes include skills like "patients," "medical terminology," "medical administration," and "aod," whereas an administrative internship is more likely to list skills in "data entry," "healthcare," "powerpoint," and "administrative intern. "
Most administrative interns achieve a similar degree level compared to medical administrative specialists. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrative specialist vs. Office specialist
An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.
Types of medical administrative specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











