Health Care Paraprofessional's Job Duties

A paraprofessional is a trained individual who is not a member of the particular profession but assists with the administrative support of that profession. In general, the medical assistant handles most of the administrative duties in the given medical setting. However some health care systems have departments dedicated to paraprofessional support only. A health care paraprofessional needs to be well trained in skills so he can carry out duties in many areas, contributing to the health care profession for both medical staff and patients.

Customer Service Duties

• Paraprofessionals have the duty of receiving customers through inbound or outbound calls in a professional manner. They answer questions or call patients to set up and confirm appointments. This professional, at times, can provide the immediate solution to a patient's issue by handling the patient's general request for information. Setting up a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) falls right in line with health care paraprofessional duties. He sends out customer service questionnaires and provides customer service assistance to help patients complete necessary forms for enrollment, insurance or other needs.

Clerical Duties

• The skilled worker in this field keeps accurate patient records by maintaining patient files. She files all medical, admission, treatment, and laboratory records in an orderly fashion according to the designated record keeping system. Developing statistic reports and other cumulative data is also on the list of duties for paraprofessionals.

  She prepares maintenance requests for broken equipment and makes supply reorder requests. The paraprofessional brings other issues that may need immediate attention to higher level medical staff to get issues resolved in a timely manner.

Patient Care Duties

• Performing some medical duties on a minute scale may be part of the job of a health care paraprofessional. Taking vital signs, recording weight and height, checking patients in, setting up rooms for care, and escorting patients to the lab are some medical duties performed by parapros.

Financial Support Duties

• Health care paraprofessionals also take on the duty of processing billing, collection, and insurance claims. They keep the financial records of payments and receipts, releasing payments to the appropriate departments. They also keep track of a patient's payment plan or set up individual payment plans on a patient-by-patient basis.