Medical office assistant vs medical scribe

The differences between medical office assistants and medical scribes can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a medical office assistant and a medical scribe. Additionally, a medical office assistant has an average salary of $33,025, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.

The top three skills for a medical office assistant include patients, patient care and vital signs. The most important skills for a medical scribe are patients, medical terminology, and excellent organizational.

Medical office assistant vs medical scribe overview

	Medical Office Assistant	Medical Scribe
Yearly salary	$33,025	$30,045
Hourly rate	$15.88	$14.44
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	199,611	80,035
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	12	12

What does a medical office assistant do?

A medical office assistant, or sometimes known as a medical administrative assistant, is an individual who performs administrative functions for a hospital or clinic. Medical office assistants are responsible for all office duties such as accounting, medical transcription, and filing insurance claims. They interview their patients about medical case history and critical information and must also compile their medical records. They must also possess knowledge in topics such as medical terminology and medical law and ethics.

What does a medical scribe do?

As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.

Medical office assistant vs medical scribe salary

Medical office assistants and medical scribes have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Office Assistant	Medical Scribe
Average salary	$33,025	$30,045
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $38,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Erickson Senior Living	Boston Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical office assistant and medical scribe education

There are a few differences between a medical office assistant and a medical scribe in terms of educational background:

	Medical Office Assistant	Medical Scribe
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Biology
Most common college	-	-

Medical office assistant vs medical scribe demographics

Here are the differences between medical office assistants' and medical scribes' demographics:

	Medical Office Assistant	Medical Scribe
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%	Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between medical office assistant and medical scribe duties and responsibilities

Medical office assistant example responsibilities.

Experience with manage care, Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial carriers.
Communicate closely with patients to ensure they are managing their current medications properly, and maintain accurate, up-to-date medical records.
Conduct preliminary patient screenings by assessing vital signs, recording patient information, preparing patient rooms, and performing EKG tests.
Protect patients' rights by maintaining confidentiality of personal information follows policies and procedures including HIPAA regulations.
Perform medical office duties including checking vital signs, history gathering, phlebotomy, and assisting physician with medical/neurological procedures.
Implement a new EHR system; provide leadership and mentoring to staff and physician during transition.

Medical scribe example responsibilities.

Manage sensitive and confidential materials such as patient health records following HIPAA regulations.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Rotate in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedic surgery, and burn medicine departments
Transcribe patient orders including laboratory tests results, radiology test findings, medications, allergies.
Utilize PC and LIS to enter and retrieve patient data, includes verifying orders and retrieving results using HIPAA compliance.
Perform Phlebotomy procedures on patients.

Medical office assistant vs medical scribe skills

Common medical office assistant skills

Patients, 24%
Patient Care, 11%
Vital Signs, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Medical Terminology, 4%
Phlebotomy, 4%

Common medical scribe skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Terminology, 17%
Excellent Organizational, 10%
Physician Assistants, 8%
Emergency Medicine, 6%
HIPAA, 4%

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Medical Office Assistant
Medical Office Assistant vs Medical Scribe

Updated January 8, 2025

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