Daily Activities in Medical Office Administration

As a medical administrator, you may be required to perform a variety of tasks, from providing quality patient care to filling out insurance forms or overseeing clinical tests. Medical administrators ensure that offices and clinics run efficiently and effectively. Many administrators begin their careers as medical assistants, who advance through continuing education and hands-on training to become medical administrators or office managers, or to oversee labs.

Patient Care

• As a medical office administrator, your goal is the same as that of any medical professional---to provide quality patient care. You will interact with patients daily, even if part of your day is spent behind the scenes overseeing clinical tests or processing medical bills and insurance paperwork.

  Patient care includes greeting new and returning patients, answering preliminary questions about their visit, setting up appointments, providing test results and making sure patients are comfortable in the waiting room.

  As a medical office administrator, you may also be required to draw blood from patients, take measurements of vital signs and meet with new patients to gather medical information for the physician.

Medical Billing and Record Keeping

• If you have experience in medical billing and coding, you may be asked to update patient files, complete insurance forms and communicate with insurance companies to ensure that medical records are complete.

  Record keeping involves correctly filing patient records and updating files as needed.

Clinical Duties

• Health clinics that perform testing on-site require medical administrators to oversee these tests. Urinalysis, blood analysis and other out-patient tests are routinely conducted by medical offices, clinics, and out-patient facilities.

  Depending on your level of experience, you may oversee a variety of tests performed in the lab. Clinical administrator duties include verifying test results, monitoring medical assistants while tests are being performed, delivering test results to patients and physicians, or reviewing lab paperwork.

Clinical and Administrative Duties Combined

• Small medical offices may require medical administrators to complete a variety of both administrative and clinical tasks throughout the day.

  In the morning, for example, you might answer the phone, schedule appointments and greet patients. In the afternoon, you might update patient files, complete insurance paperwork and prepare examination rooms for the next day by replenishing supplies, removing hazardous waste materials and general cleaning.

Career Development

• Some hospitals and clinics require medical assistants and administrators to continue their education in order to work in different departments within the hospital in order to reduce costs.

  Being able to perform multiple tasks in a medical office is an asset if you want to become an office manager or oversee a lab. Obtaining certifications in phlebotomy and learning how to use advanced equipment such as X-ray machines are skills that will benefit your career.