What does a medical office administrator do?
A medical office administrator is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties within a health care institution, supplying physicians and medical professionals with patients' information, and coordinating with insurance companies. Medical office administrators handle the information and data management system to ensure the accuracy of patients' details, medical history, and treatment plans. They also schedule doctor appointments and cancellations, as well as monitoring the inventory of medical supplies. A medical office administrator submits payment reports, respond to patients' inquiries and concerns, and process billing disputes.
Medical office administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical office administrator resumes:
- Re-Evaluat & improve policy manual, develop standards for HIPPA, OSHA, manage care, billing and medical compliance.
- Facilitate client relationships and manage surgery schedules, financial consultations, follow up care and ongoing maintenance.
- Used knowledge of medical procedures and customer service, record medical histories and schedule patients for hospitalization and other procedures.
- Scan new information such as daily progress notes, physical exams, labs and diagnostic testing into EMR.
- Advise and counsel patient regarding food, fluid, medicine intake and restrictions prior to surgery including drop regime.
- Organize patient charts and loose reports, as well as paper work from daily operations for scanning into EMR system.
- Utilize office automation equipment CHCS computer.
- Verify patient insurance and demographic information in CHCS.
- Conduct phlebotomy duties and properly label and complete necessary paperwork.
- Experience working with confidential information regarding medical records, maintain compliant with HIPAA regulations.
- Perform all duties of a medical receptionist and office clerk in an outpatient radiology facility
- Handle and process confidential patient information while ensuring compliance with HIPAA privacy and security regulations.
- Seek to maximize physician scheduling given awareness of limitations of institutional resources; proactively schedule/reschedule patients to efficiently utilize resources.
- Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops and developing personal growth opportunities such as CPR and leadership courses.
- Used multiple computer software systems, spreadsheets, word processing, PowerPoint.
Medical office administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Medical Office Administrators are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Writing skills, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Medical Office Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Used knowledge of medical procedures and customer service, recorded medical histories and scheduled patients for hospitalization and other procedures.
- Patient Care, 10%
Facilitated flow of patient care activities and resolution of office issues with appropriate confidentiality to meet HIPAA imperatives.
- Customer Service, 8%
Provided quality customer service in a friendly environment that establishes efficient collection practices resulting in a loyal customer base.
- Insurance Verification, 5%
Manage a front desk in areas of computerized scheduling, referrals, insurance verification, authorization and medical record management.
- Phone Calls, 5%
Fielded phone calls to necessary personnel or provided information and greeted / directed visitors to proper destinations.
- Appointment Scheduling, 4%
Assisted patients with appointment scheduling including surgeries.
Most medical office administrators use their skills in "patients," "patient care," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential medical office administrator responsibilities here:
Writing skills. One of the key soft skills for a medical office administrator to have is writing skills. You can see how this relates to what medical office administrators do because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." Additionally, a medical office administrator resume shows how medical office administrators use writing skills: "work in several aspects of correspondence (inbound phone calls, outbound phone calls and in writing). "
Interpersonal skills. Many medical office administrator duties rely on interpersonal skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff," so a medical office administrator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways medical office administrator responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "demonstrated customer service and interpersonal skills with all healthcare professionals in order to ensure quality and continuity of care. "
Organizational skills. medical office administrators are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to medical office administrator responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." A medical office administrator resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "provide customer service, assisted patients, demonstrated organizational skills, maintained patient privacy and confidentiality. "
The three companies that hire the most medical office administrators are:
- HealthTrust38 medical office administrators jobs
- Hanger27 medical office administrators jobs
- Johns Hopkins University18 medical office administrators jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable medical office administrator resume templates
Build a professional medical office administrator resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical office administrator resume.
Compare different medical office administrators
Medical office administrator vs. Patient representative
A patient representative is responsible for assisting the patients with their health care needs by identifying their medical concerns, assessing their medical history, and referring them to the appropriate physicians or other medical professionals for immediate treatments and further examinations. Patient representatives verify the patients' insurance information, guiding them on filling out medical forms, processing payments for medical services, and updating them for the release of medical results. A patient representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when responding to patient's inquiries and concerns timely and accurately, and performing additional administrative and clerical tasks as needed.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a medical office administrator are more likely to require skills like "provides administrative support," "office equipment," "test results," and "ehr." On the other hand, a job as a patient representative requires skills like "check-in," "strong customer service," "excellent interpersonal," and "emr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Patient representatives tend to make the most money working in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $34,572. In contrast, medical office administrators make the biggest average salary, $34,449, in the health care industry.On average, patient representatives reach similar levels of education than medical office administrators. Patient representatives are 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Medical office administrator vs. Patient care specialist
A patient service or care specialist works at different medical facilities. Primary responsibilities include checking patients in and out, scheduling follow-up appointments as well as checking patient eligibility for services or programs. Patient service specialists should maintain a systematic referral log to correlate patient referrals to other specialists. Applicants for the job should have the basic computer knowledge to effectively manage data of patient's files, knowledge of medical terminologies, and possess good interpersonal and customer service skills.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical office administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "office equipment," "medical insurance," "pet," and "test results." Meanwhile, a patient care specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "cpr," "emr," "departmental policies," and "home health." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Patient care specialists may earn a lower salary than medical office administrators, but patient care specialists earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,483. On the other hand, medical office administrators receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $34,449.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Patient care specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than medical office administrators. In fact, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical office administrator vs. Patient care representative
PCRs (Patient Care Representatives) are given responsibilities like updating and verifying patient information after every visit, scheduling and reminding patients about appointments, and informing patients about delays and how long the estimated waiting times will be. They are also responsible for obtaining patients' personal information like their address, contact details, insurance information, and medical and surgical history. They must be able to communicate with patients, family members, and medical staff to give them all the information they need to treat the person looking for medical help.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, medical office administrators are more likely to have skills like "provides administrative support," "appointment scheduling," "medical insurance," and "pet." But a patient care representative is more likely to have skills like "home health," "cash management," "excellent interpersonal," and "rehabilitation."
Patient care representatives make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $36,400. On the other hand, medical office administrators are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $34,449.Most patient care representatives achieve a similar degree level compared to medical office administrators. For example, they're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical office administrator vs. Registration specialist
A registration specialist is responsible for managing patient information, including the verification of their insurance details and medical treatment schedules. Registration specialists assign admission rooms and processing payments for discharge. They also assist patients with the completion of medical forms by helping them fill-out papers with the most accurate information. A registration specialist performs administrative and clerical duties as needed, requiring them to have excellent data management skills to process information and provide the highest quality care services for the patients.
Types of medical office administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
