Medical receptionists and medical office administrators place a critical role in the day-to-day functions and operations of private medical offices, clinics, physician offices, and hospitals each day. As an entry-level position in healthcare, becoming a medical receptionist can serve as a great starting point for a healthcare career by gaining experience, building connections, and developing skillsets. Continue reading to learn more about medical receptionists.
What is a Medical Receptionist?
Medical receptionists are administrative professionals who assist with the day-to-day administrative functions and operations of medical offices. The title of medical receptionist is often a very broad term and can include a variety of different entry-level front-office positions going by multiple different names. However, the core of the medical receptionist position is to provide entry-level administrative and clerical duties that help the office, and its providers operate smoothly.
What does a Medical Office Administrators do?
Medical office administrators combine various administrative tasks, clerical responsibilities, and customer service and support roles into a single job title. Most medical office administrators can be found working at the front desk of medical offices where they greet patients and help to assist them before they see a provider. Receptionists also work behind the scenes with nurses and providers to offer support services to aid with their job functions and responsibilities.
Here are some common job responsibilities required of today’s medical receptionists:
- Greeting patients
- Answering emails and phone calls from questions
- Taking patient insurance and payment information
- Scheduling patient appointments
- Receiving, organizing, updating, and filing patient medical records
- Assisting patients with appointment, insurance, or payment inquiries
Where do Medical Office Administrators Work?
Medical receptionists can be found working throughout healthcare and are valuable members of multiple different healthcare practices and locations. The most common places for medical office administrators to work are doctors’ offices, clinics, specialty care offices, and hospitals. Medical receptionists can also work for individual providers or practitioner offices as opposed to a clinic or office. Explore some of the common places medical receptionists can find work:
- Doctors’ offices
- Medical clinics
- Specialty care offices
- Hospital wings / units
- Individual practitioners
How to Become a Medical Receptionist
Medical office administrator positions can be found throughout the healthcare field and are available to both non-college and college graduates seeking to start or explore a career in healthcare. There are multiple different ways to become a medical office administrator, with many jobs requiring only minimal experience. A high school diploma is required for most positions, and while a secondary degree or certificate can boost a resume, it is not required for many positions.
Medical Receptionist Career Outlook
Becoming a medical office administrator can be a great launch point for a future career in either administrative or clinical healthcare. Since secondary education such as college or professional certification is not required to become a medical receptionist, many aspiring professionals use it as a way to gain experience in the field while working toward future roles.
Since the position provides such a variety of experiences, medical office administrators can follow multiple different pathways. Careers in healthcare administration, health informatics, medical assisting, and pharmacy technician specialist are some common next step positions for medical receptions since they apply many of the same skills on a more advanced level.
