What is an Administrative Medical Assistant?

Administrative Medical Assistants

If you want to join the fast paced medical environment, but don’t have the desire or the stomach to be a nurse or doctor, an administrative medical assistant may be the perfect position for you.

What is an Administrative Medical Assistant?

Administrative Medical AssistingAn administrative medical assistant is a key part of every medical team. This person may be responsible for admitting patients, collecting and filing insurance information, managing communication, scheduling of treatments, and handling sensitive health records while adhering to HIPAA and JCAHO regulations.

Administrative medical assistants work under high pressure and in fast-paced environments; they must have extraordinary people skills and customer service skills, as they will be servicing many people every day from very different walks of life.

Professionalism is a key characteristic for this position, as you may have to deal with non-compliant insurance companies, impatient customers, and moody physicians. The fact of the matter is that you will be the face of the company, so you must reflect what you want potential patients to see.

How Do I Become an Administrative Medical Assistant?

Most administrative assistant jobs in other business fields require a minimum of a high school diploma, or equivalent. However, due to the sensitive nature and skill requirements of the medical field, medical administrative assistants are required to undergo specific training to acquire necessary skills, in addition to having a high school diploma.

This position may require you to know medical terminology, how to use specific medical software and computer programs, and be familiar with rules and regulations regarding handling sensitive healthcare information. Due to this knowledge requirement, many people prefer to hire people who have completed some sort of administrative medical assistant education.

There are many administrative medical assistant programs offered, both online and in person, to help individuals earn an education and secure a position with a respectable medical establishment.

Many candidates also take their futures into their own hands and seek certifications, in addition to their formal education, such as the Medical Administrative Assistant Certification, which verifies that individuals can sufficiently handle the administrative tasks of running a medical office. Obtaining a certification may result in higher paying jobs and more job opportunities.

Administrative Medical Assistant Job Outlook

Medical Administrative AssistantAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the administrative medical assistant occupation is projected to grow 27% from 2008 to 2018. This expected influx in needs is due to the medical staff relying more heavily on administrative medical assistants to handle more tasks, thereby streamlining the operation of the office. Contacting insurance companies, transporting lab samples and results, and keeping up with office accounting were once handled by other positions. As administrative medical assistants continued to educate themselves and handle more responsibility, more office tasks were assigned, changing the very nature of the position in the entire industry.

Another big reason experts expect to see growth in this specific position, is the increased availability of medical care with the Affordable Care Act. With this Act in place, individuals who are unemployed or without insurance have easier access to affordable healthcare.

It is clear that becoming an administrative medical assistant is a good career choice for those looking for a long term career path with excellent growth opportunity. There are programs in schools across the country that can help you achieve the desired level of education to help you get the job you’ve been working for.