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Medical Office Careers

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by Carlos A Soto, CourseAdvisor

It takes more people than a doctor to run a doctor's office.

Doctors depend on a dedicated team to run their medical office. Indeed, a medical office provides career opportunities for many people whose skills aren't medical in origin. Taking a look under the surface, you may (or may not!) be surprised to find out that most people employed in a medical office aren't M.D.'s!

In order to keep a medical office practice running smoothly, a variety of support staff are needed. Some of their positions are:

Medical Billing and Coding

  • A Medical Billing and Coding Specialist takes care of accounts and records. As the healthcare industry becomes more specialized, the way specialized medical service providers and specialists get paid for their services becomes more complicated in turn. Medical Billing and Coding specialists work in the health information technology field and their work focuses on keeping doctor's patients' medical records up-to-date and complete in order to bill their insurance providers accordingly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2006, median annual earnings of medical records and health information technicians were $28,030, with the middle 50% earning between $22,420 and $35,990. Actual earnings depend on variables like employer, specialty and location.

Medical Transcriptionist

  • A Medical Transcriptionist transcribes doctors' spoken-word notes and opinions, then enters the information into the necessary documents and records. As doctors' patient lists grow, doctors increasingly have less time to manually write their diagnoses, prognoses, or opinions on a patient's condition. Instead, they record them and pass them on to a medical transcriptionist to organize and transcribe them into the medical records. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2006, the median hourly earnings for medical transcriptionists were $14.40, with the middle 50% earning between $12.17 and $17.06.

Medical Administrative Assistant

  • A Medical Administrative Assistant keeps the medical office running smoothly. This assistant coordinates the activities of every employee in the medical office through a combination of management and clerical responsibilities. Secretaries, for example, take care of the clerical tasks required to keep the front-end of the medical office working. Their duties can include answering phones, arranging appointments, checking-in or signing-in patients for their appointments, and serving as the first point-of-contact between the patient and the doctor. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2006, median annual earnings of medical and health services managers were $73,340, with the middle 50% earning between $57,240 and $94,780. Earnings of medical and health services managers vary by type and size of the facility and by level of responsibility.

Medical Assistant

  • A Medical Assistant helps physicians with a variety of administrative and clinical tasks. Sometimes they will help the other medical office workers with tasks like arranging appointments, updating medical records, or arranging laboratory tests, however, they may also work directly with patients and doctors, performing responsibilities like obtaining medical histories, taking vital signs, assisting physicians with exams, and other medical procedures. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2006, the median annual earnings of medical assistants were $26,290, with the middle 50% earning between $21,970 and $31,210. These earnings can vary depending on experience, skill level and location.

Medical offices are one of the primary sources of healthcare services available to patients. Historically, medical service providers have always had a demand in the marketplace, and with the right skills and training, you could be part of this market too!

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