What does a Medical Administrator do?

A medical administrator is in charge of overseeing a medical facility's daily operations, ensuring the efficiency of all services and processes. Among their responsibilities include setting goals and guidelines, studying the feedback of different parties, gathering and analyzing data to identify areas needing improvement, planning and organizing new services and projects, managing the medical staff, and developing strategies to optimize operations. They may also develop training programs for new and current employees, coordinating with experts in the medical field. Furthermore, as a medical administrator, it is essential to lead the workforce while implementing the hospital's policies and regulations.
Medical administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical administrator resumes:
- Facilitate client relationships and manage surgery schedules, financial consultations, follow up care and ongoing maintenance.
- Maintain a working knowledge and understanding of CPT and ICD-10 codes.
- Provide patients with information explaining hospital admission policies, time of admission, and HIPPA privacy guidelines.
- Receive and fulfill requests for release of information to patients and external providers following HIPPA guidelines
- Attend classes to improve proficiency in billing using CPT and ICD9 codes with special modifiers.
- Verify coverage for third-party insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and out of network benefits.
- Keep all patient information confidential according to HIPAA standards
- Maintain individual's medical records consistent with HIPPA regulations.
- Conduct budgetary and fiscal management and ensure Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
- Schedule and bill all surgical procedures perform by the physicians and assist patients with insurance reimbursement.
- Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops and developing personal growth opportunities such as CPR and leadership courses.
- Prepare and assemble committee meeting documents including agendas, PowerPoint presentations, and other graphics.
Medical administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of Medical Administrators 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 Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 29%
Scheduled and billed all surgical procedures performed by the physicians and assisted patients with insurance reimbursement.
- Patient Care, 10%
Coordinated with numerous clinics, environment department and with patient caretaker to provide containment of a patient environmental hazard.
- Medical Terminology, 7%
Perform secretarial duties utilizing specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic or laboratory procedures.
- HIPAA, 6%
Ensured all patient related concerns were in compliance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
- CPT, 5%
Attended classes to improve proficiency in billing using CPT and ICD9 codes with special modifiers.
- Medicaid, 5%
Conducted budgetary and fiscal management and ensured Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
Common skills that a medical administrator uses to do their job include "patients," "patient care," and "medical terminology." You can find details on the most important medical administrator responsibilities below.
Organizational skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a medical administrator to have is organizational skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." Medical administrators often use organizational skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "managed multiple tasks and demands including answering patient phone calls with excellent telephone manners and organizational skills. "
Writing skills. Many medical administrator duties rely on writing skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers," so a medical administrator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways medical administrator responsibilities rely on writing skills: "process daily service fees with the appropriate cpt and icd9 codes * writing referrals * collecting co-pays. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for medical administrators to perform their duties. For an example of how medical administrator responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a medical administrator: "position requires strong attention to detail, knowledge of medical terminology, independent time management as well as strong interpersonal skills. ".
The three companies that hire the most medical administrators are:
- Robert Half5 medical administrators jobs
- Res-Care Premier3 medical administrators jobs
- AppleOne Employment Services2 medical administrators jobs
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Medical administrator vs. Scheduler
A scheduler is responsible for arranging appointments and carrying out reminder calls and correspondence to anyone involved. In a company setting, it is also a scheduler's responsibility to coordinate with various departments and personnel to organize an accurate timetable that will consist of meetings, gatherings, deadlines, or other pressing matters. Furthermore, a scheduler must have attention to detail as one must perform bookkeeping tasks, fix scheduling issues or conflicts, and organize documentation. There are also instances where one must process orders or payments.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between medical administrators and scheduler. For instance, medical administrator responsibilities require skills such as "icd-10," "appeals," "medication administration," and "cpr." Whereas a scheduler is skilled in "customer service," "home health," "phone calls," and "strong customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Schedulers earn the highest salaries when working in the construction industry, with an average yearly salary of $53,150. On the other hand, medical administrators are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $42,427.On average, schedulers reach similar levels of education than medical administrators. Schedulers are 3.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrator vs. Patient service associate
A patient service associate is responsible for providing high-quality care services to the patients, ensuring their satisfaction by assisting their medical needs and concerns. Patient service associates perform administrative duties, such as helping patients to fill-out forms, updating patients' information on the database, processing payments for medical procedures, storing patients' medical files, and monitoring the adequacy of medical tools and supplies. They may also conduct basic medical operations under the supervision of a physician or a health professional, adhering to strict protocols and regulations at all times to avoid hazards and health risks.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "icd-10," "appeals," "medication administration," and "cpr." Meanwhile, a patient service associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "patient service," "excellent organizational," and "patient calls." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Patient service associates earn a lower average salary than medical administrators. But patient service associates earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,522. Additionally, medical administrators earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $42,427 annually.In general, patient service associates achieve similar levels of education than medical administrators. They're 3.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrator vs. Unit coordinator
A unit coordinator is responsible for providing quality care services to patients by supporting the daily operations of a health care facility under the supervision of medical professionals. Unit coordinators perform administrative and clerical tasks as needed, including responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, sorting medical records, verifying insurance details, and assisting the physician on the care plans and patients' activities. They also monitor the medical supply inventory, coordinate with suppliers, and ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of the facility by adhering to safety standards and protocols.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, medical administrators are more likely to have skills like "patient care," "cpt," "icd-10," and "appeals." But a unit coordinator is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "patient flow," "excellent interpersonal," and "physician orders."
Unit coordinators make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $35,680. On the other hand, medical administrators are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $42,427.Most unit coordinators achieve a similar degree level compared to medical administrators. For example, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical administrator 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.
Types of medical administrator
Updated January 8, 2025