Administrative Medical Assistants are Vital to Quality Patient Care

Administrative medical assistants are a valuable resource to the healthcare system, explaining why the need for qualified certified medical assistants (CMAs) continues to rise every year.  Despite the growing popularity, there are still lots of mystery and intrigue surrounding this highly versatile but still relatively unknown allied health career.  

Administrative medical assistants are vital to quality patient care in more ways than one.

What is an Administrative Medical Assistant? 

Administrative medical assistants are like a medical secretary as they work in an administrative capacity within hospitals, healthcare facilities, and clinics. They use their knowledge of medical terminology, procedures, and applications to perform their job. 

Administrative medical assistants have the option to work in many different settings, and their job duties may vary greatly depending on their employer. Medical assistants perform a variety of daily tasks that require both clinical and administrative knowledge and cross-training. Due to this unique cross-training, medical assistants are considered one of the most versatile healthcare employees in the industry. 

Duties of an Administrative Medical Assistant

If you’re interested in becoming a medical assistant with a strong administrative role, your primary goal should be to help keep the facility running smoothly. Your daily tasks may change depending on the type of practice you’re working for. You can expect to do a good deal of filing and paperwork, as well as interacting with both patients and physicians. In addition to spending your time assisting the physician, a medical assistant is responsible for helping patients feel comfortable and satisfied with their overall patient experience. 

Administrative duties may include: 

• Greeting patients and checking them in. 
• Answering phones and scheduling appointments. 
• Filing, updating, and organizing patient records. 
• Managing budgets. 
• Taking inventory of supplies and placing supply orders.
• Sorting, opening, and responding to mail. 
• Transcribing medical information for physicians.
• Billing insurance companies for services. 
• Coding medical records for billing. 

What Skills Should an Administrative Medical Assistant Possess? 

If you want to be a successful medical administrative employee, you need to possess certain skills. Some of these skills will be acquired when becoming a medical student, like medical office software for example, but others are skills you likely already have, such as organizational or good communication and social skills. 

Following Directions 

While working as an administrative medical assistant, you will have to lead and give instructions to those working under you, but you must also listen to and meet the demands of the nurses and doctors on staff. The ability to follow directions given to you by healthcare professionals is critical. Patient safety is on the line, so doing what you’re asked and listening carefully to instructions is a must. 

Using Technology 

Being able to use technology with confidence is also key to your success. It’s one of the most important administrative duties you can expect to perform daily. You’ll be using scheduling software and managing digital patient records and databases, so mastering the use of technology is a necessary skill when becoming a medical student. 

Excellent Communication Skills 

Your job as an administrative medical assistant will involve a lot of communication. You won’t simply be confined to typing on a computer all day, but you’ll be talking on the phone with patients, insurance company representatives, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and lab workers. You’ll also need to communicate with patients in person and be comfortable relaying information from patients to doctors and vice versa. 

Becoming an Administrative Medical Assistant 

To become a successful administrative medical assistant, you must first get a good education from an established, accredited school. If becoming a medical student is the right choice for you, contact Athena Career Academy today to learn more about our flexible class schedules and how to enroll.