Looking to advance your career in a growing industry in as little as five months? Learn how to do medical billing or administrative work for a physician’s office, clinic, or hospital. Hunter Business School graduates can obtain entry-level employment as a medical office administration specialist or patient coordinator. Additional possibilities include a billing, admissions, or health unit coordinator in private firms, medical offices, legal offices, or government organizations.
You will need specific skills to get a job in a medical office. Here are the six main skills needed.
Skill #1: Keyboarding with Microsoft Word Much of what administrative staff does includes computer keyboarding and touch typing both on QWERTY keyboards and on the ten-number keypad. From creating professional memos to data entry of patient information, the medical office administration specialist is responsible for increased speed in touch typing.
Skill #2: Medical Terminology Understanding medical and scientific terminology will be vital in a physician’s office. Administrative staff will need an overview of body systems and the structures and functions of those systems to relate to the diagnostic and treatment procedures that will be reported on.
Skill #3: Communication and Human Relations An introduction to patient relations, including health care law and ethics, is needed. This knowledge will help medical office staff to better communicate and interact with physicians, health care professionals, and patients. Skills specifically focus on telephone techniques and appointment scheduling.
Skill #4: Microsoft Office Intermediate skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access are important. The medical office administration specialist will need to understand word processing and business letter formatting. This includes different functions of Word (e.g., spelling and grammar, find and replace commands, and all aspects of formatting text). Knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint are important, as administrative staff may need to create reports, spreadsheets, and visual aids.
Access is integral computer software used in medical offices for database management.
Skill #5: Computerized Accounting QuickBooks is commonly used in the medical profession for computerized accounting. You must master the knowledge and practical understanding of the revenue and expenses features of QuickBooks. Further skills include payroll processing, bank reconciliation, reports and graphs, and inventory control.
Skill #6: Billing and Coding These skills center around medical insurance billing and the use of computerized billing, medical software, and electronic medical records (EMR). A medical biller needs the ability to fill out forms to compile standard insurance claims or bill insurance companies and must be familiar with medical coding (numerical identifiers for diagnoses and procedures).
Did learning about the skills needed to succeed as a medical office administration specialist interest you? Working in a medical office can be fun and rewarding. With a high demand for office staff in the medical industry, these six skills will help you obtain your new career in as little as five months.
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