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What does a medical support assistant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a medical support assistant do

A medical support assistant job is mainly in health care services, such as hospitals, medical clinics, and private doctors who perform administrative duties and organizing schedules and records. They work together with patients' physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel. Assistants can directly work with patients and call insurance firms on their behalf to inquire about insurance coverage. Medical support assistants encode data on a computer regarding patients' medications, treatment, and lab test results.

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Medical support assistant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical support assistant resumes:

  • Provide pharmaceutical services to Medicaid recipients through manage care organizations and fee-for-service programs.
  • Coordinate front and back office tasks such as checking in and checking out patients, triage, and insurance verification.
  • Assist with enrolling patients into the TRICARE online website so patients can access appointments remotely from any web enable device.
  • Analyze patients' financial information to recommend suitable programs and lifesaving aid for both veterans and eligible family members.
  • Review and audit payroll reports.
  • Apply knowledge of coding systems, including ICD-9-CM and CPT.
  • Create pamphlets & PowerPoint presentations used in region-wide AQM conferences.
  • Track facility operations, events, admissions, and transfers on the AOD log.
  • Observe patient s and assist in therapeutic rehabilitation programs as a member of a treatment team.
  • Assemble, prepare, and maintain EMR - health relate history, medication restrictions and allergies.
  • Collaborate with supervisor, nurse, and other MSA s to ensure patient is receiving proper care.
  • Procure shred bin, document protectors, desktop copy holders, and various other supplies for MSA staff.
  • Assist physician with a variety of diagnostic support duties and operating electrocardiograph machine (EKG) updating patients care plan.
  • Provide varied support where need between patient funds accounting clerk, beneficiary travel clerk, payroll technician, and accounts payable.
  • Counsele beneficiaries regarding their TRICARE benefits.

Medical support assistant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 18% of Medical Support Assistants are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Advanced Life Support. They’re also known for soft skills such as Writing skills, Organizational skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Medical Support Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 18%

    Interview patients who request treatment or unscheduled examinations and obtain information regarding the type of medical problem.

  • Patient Care, 9%

    Provided administrative support to army Obstetrical & Gynecology clinic, including clerical and record keeping duties associated with patient care.

  • Advanced Life Support, 7%

    Provide Basic Life Support, Assist Advanced Life Support, Medical Documentation, Vehicle operations, and radio communications.

  • Veterans, 7%

    Ensured accuracy of patient demographics/contact information, in order to increase efficiency of providing top-level customer service and communication to Veterans.

  • Customer Service, 6%

    Coordinated referrals to civilian network providers and serves as an appointment/referral clerk providing exceptional customer service during peak times of service.

  • Medical Terminology, 5%

    Experience working in a medical eligibility office, determining patient eligibility, electronic medical record systems, medical terminology.

Common skills that a medical support assistant uses to do their job include "patients," "patient care," and "advanced life support." You can find details on the most important medical support assistant responsibilities below.

Writing skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a medical support assistant to have is writing skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." Medical support assistants often use writing skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "demonstrate knowledge of federal regulations and directives.skills usedcomputer, writing, telephone, data entry and superior customer service. "

Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical support assistant duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." According to a medical support assistant resume, here's how medical support assistants can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "perfected office organizational skills and clerical support. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of medical support assistants is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday medical support assistant duties, as "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "received exceptional rating for customer service, program administration, and interpersonal relationships/communication on 2009 performance appraisal. "

See the full list of medical support assistant skills

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Compare different medical support assistants

Medical support assistant vs. Registration representative

In medical facilities, a registration representative serves as the patients' first point of contact in clinics and hospitals. They primarily greet patients, identify their needs, gather personal and medical information, and assist them in filling out forms. They must also handle admission and discharge procedures, process payments, arrange payment plans, and collect insurance information. Furthermore, as a registered representative, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.

If we compare the average medical support assistant annual salary with that of a registration representative, we find that registration representatives typically earn a $1,369 lower salary than medical support assistants make annually.Even though medical support assistants and registration representatives are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, patient care, and customer service in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, medical support assistant responsibilities require skills like "advanced life support," "veterans," "patient flow," and "medical care." Meanwhile a typical registration representative has skills in areas such as "patient registration," "insurance benefits," "physician orders," and "insurance cards." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Registration representatives really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $34,337. Comparatively, medical support assistants tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $40,958.registration representatives tend to reach lower levels of education than medical support assistants. In fact, registration representatives are 5.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Medical support assistant 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.

On average, registration specialists earn a $4,968 lower salary than medical support assistants a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both medical support assistants and registration specialists have skills such as "patients," "patient care," and "customer service. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real medical support assistant resumes. While medical support assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "advanced life support," "veterans," "patient flow," and "medical care," registration specialists use skills like "patient registration," "insurance verification," "insurance eligibility," and "medicaid."

Registration specialists earn a lower average salary than medical support assistants. But registration specialists earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $30,648. Additionally, medical support assistants earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $40,958 annually.registration specialists earn lower levels of education than medical support assistants in general. They're 5.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Medical support assistant 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.

An average patient care specialist eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of medical support assistants. The difference in salaries amounts to patient care specialists earning a $1,233 lower average salary than medical support assistants.Using the responsibilities included on medical support assistants and patient care specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "patient care," and "customer service.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a medical support assistant is likely to be skilled in "advanced life support," "veterans," "medical care," and "rehabilitation," while a typical patient care specialist is skilled in "cpt," "cpr," "emr," and "departmental policies."

Patient care specialists earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $32,483. Comparatively, medical support assistants have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $40,958.When it comes to education, patient care specialists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to medical support assistants. In fact, they're 3.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Medical support assistant 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.

Patient representatives typically earn lower pay than medical support assistants. On average, patient representatives earn a $2,921 lower salary per year.According to resumes from medical support assistants and patient representatives, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "patient care," and "customer service. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "advanced life support," "veterans," "medical care," and "msa" are skills that commonly show up on medical support assistant resumes. On the other hand, patient representatives use skills like check-in, insurance verification, patient registration, and strong customer service on their resumes.patient representatives enjoy the best pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $34,572. For comparison, medical support assistants earn the highest salary in the government industry.In general, patient representatives hold similar degree levels compared to medical support assistants. Patient representatives are 3.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of medical support assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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