Tap to Read ➤

Health Care Administrative Assistant

Hemangi Harankhedkar
A health care administrative assistant works in hospitals or private clinics of doctors, and the post demands excellent communication and managerial skills.
The health care sector is always in a boom, and there is never a dearth of careers in this sector. Doctors, nurses, careers in medical transcription, hospital assistants and managers; apart from these all, there are plenty of other career options in the rewarding medical field.
A career in the medical field promises job security, and is also quite rewarding monetarily too. Let's look into the details of this career. This includes the daily tasks an assistant has to undertake, and also the pay details of this job.

Job Description

As the job concerns the health care sector, it is clear that they work in a doctor's clinic or a hospital. The job involves many duties and responsibilities that the assistant has to carry out diligently for the efficient working of the hospital.
The post has more of administrative and clerical duties involved, and there are very few duties associated with this job. A medical administrative assistant has more of clerical duties that contribute in a big way in running the hospital in a smooth way.
In rare cases, the assistant has to work under the doctor's supervision for medical emergencies. The duties are generally allocated by the medical administrative specialist, and are similar to the duties of a medical assistant. The important duties of the assistant have been listed below, take a look.
  • Scheduling of all the appointments and operations, in an appropriate way.
  • There is also the task of communicating with the vendors and medical representatives to plan out the deals and negotiations.
  • He usually manages the front office desk. Thus the job also involves receiving all the internal and external phone calls.
  • The medical assistant should also be proficient in the use of various medical and accounting software, and should possess good typing skills. This is because, sometimes he is expected to draft replies to the patient queries, and has to handle patient records and information too.
  • Apart from these duties, the assistant should also possess effective communication and negotiation skills. Because, he is very often required to communicate with the patients about any operation, treatment, medical insurance, and payment details.
These were some of the chief duties of an assistant in this field. The duties change as per the place of work, but the general duties of the assistant remain the same, and they are more of the administrative and managerial nature. The educational requirements to become an administrative assistant in the health care sector are not very high, and even a person with no college education can become one.
One just has to do the job search appropriately using means like the Internet and newspaper. The assistants are required to possess sound skills in basic management of a place, computer handling and communication skills. Possessing accounting skills would be a plus point, as the assistant also has to deal with purchases and billing under the supervision of the head. Let's now take a look at the salary details of this type of assistant.

Salary

The pay of this assistant is influenced by a variety of factors. The place of work plays an important role in deciding the salary of this assistant. Experience is also one of the deciding factors for the salary figures. As per recent surveys, the average yearly salary an assistant can expect is around $47,000.
With experience and by working in a bigger organization, this figure will only get higher. The average salary is also expected to grow as the requirement for these assistants is also witnessing a growth.
Considering the boom in the medical field, the choice of this career is a good move. With appropriate skills, the assistant can expect a good rise in the salary figure. All the best!