Administrative Medical Assistants
Career Guide: Salary, Job Duties, and More
This page offers details on the expected salaries, day-to-day job duties, and additional insights for those exploring or considering a career as an administrative medical assistant.
What is an Administrative Medical Assistant?
Administrative medical assistants are the glue that holds healthcare offices together. They handle a wide variety of critical clerical, organizational, and patient care duties including: verifying insurance eligibility, scheduling appointments, updating patient records, coordinating referrals, assisting with billing questions, and fielding phone inquiries.
Their composure dealing with numerous tasks makes them integral to smooth patient and provider workflows. Administrative assistants also often educate patients on preparations for visits, coordinate medical histories, assist with check-in/out, take vital signs, and support clinical staff needs.
How Do I Become an Administrative Medical Assistant?
Administrative medical assistants are critical to the operations of healthcare offices and practices. They assist with clerical, organizational, billing, and patient care coordination tasks.
If you’re interested in launching a career as an administrative assistant, see the following steps:
- Earn a High School Diploma or GED
- Complete Formal Training through a Certificate or Associate Program in Medical Administration
- Take Relevant Courses including Medical Terminology, Insurance Billing, Electronic Health Records, and Office Procedures
- Complete Hands-on Training through an Internship in a Healthcare Office
- Obtain Professional Certification such as the CMAA Credential from the National Healthcareer Association
- Develop Critical Skills like Organization, Multi-tasking, Communication, and Attention to Detail
Key Responsibilities of an Administrative Medical Assistant
Administrative medical assistants are central to the efficient operations of a clinic or healthcare facility. These professionals typically coordinate complex schedules, workflows, and documentation critical for patient care.
- Managing patient appointment schedules, rescheduling when needed
- Registering new patients, collecting insurance and personal information
- Answering phones, routing calls, taking thorough messages
- Maintaining accurate electronic health records, documenting procedures
- Submitting insurance claims and bills for reimbursement
- Greeting patients, collecting payments and co-pays
The career outlook for administrative medical assistants appears very promising over the next decade. Job growth is projected to outpace the average rate substantially as demand for healthcare services continues to rise.
Several key factors are converging to heighten the demand for versatile assistants with cross-training in clerical and clinical responsibilities: an aging population needing more care, the adoption of electronic health records spurring a need for trained staff, the prevalence of team-based care demanding coordination, and the shift of services to outpatient settings needing workflow assistance.
National Average: $52,350.00
| U.S. Regions | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| West | $54,860.00 |
| Midwest | $47,350.00 |
| Northeast | $53,350.00 |
| Southwest | $51,600.00 |
| Southeast | $49,130.00 |
Additional Key Information:
| Salary Range | $41,948.00 entry level to $64,150.00+ |
| Common Benefits | Health insurance, retirement, vacation & bonuses |
Blogs
What Facilities Should Know About Onboarding Travel Nurses
As demand ebbs and flows, medical facilities increasingly rely on travel nurses to plug staffing gaps, but effectively onboarding these temporary workers requires some unique considerations. This blog outlines key areas – from condensed orientation to expediting EMR access – that hospitals and clinics should focus on when integrating travel nurses to maximize their productivity.
How to Quickly Acclimate to New EMR Systems
The transition to a new electronic medical records (EMR) system can be downright frustrating for healthcare staff who have built fluency using another platform. While growing pains are inevitable when switching EMR solutions, the acclimation period doesn’t have to drag on indefinitely.