Current growth in the healthcare industry and its more-than-healthy outlook for future growth have made this industry a desired career path. There are thousands of different career options with many requiring specialized skills. You may want to break into the healthcare industry but may not want to take an active role in providing patient care. A medical administrative assistant (MAA) school could be the solution you have been looking for. There are no needles or complicated equipment to use when you work as a medical administrative assistant. Instead, you provide the administrative support any office needs to run appropriately.
What Does a Medical Administrative Assistant Do?
There are a wide variety of medical administrative tasks ranging from medical billing and coding to patient chart maintenance. Scheduling appointments and ensuring data quality all falls under the heading of administrative tasks. As a medical administrative assistant you need to learn:
Medical terminology
When filling out paperwork for submission to an insurance company you need to have knowledge of medical terms. To ensure the proper billing codes are used, you must know the meaning of the names of different procedures and how to code treatments for insurance claims.
Maintenance of electronic health records
HIPAA standards apply to all people employed in the medical industry. You have access to personal and private information about patients seen at your workplace. You must know how to ensure privacy while maintaining records. You must also be prepared to work with proprietary database software to input and track patient information.
Insurance protocols
As a medical administrative assistant, you might need to determine the amount of coverage offered by a patient's insurance provider and how to fill out claim forms to ensure payment. A mistake on a billing claim can lead to the patient being billed for covered services. This is stressful and can cause double billing. You need to understand the ins and outs of filling out insurance forms and pre-authorizing different treatments with a provider.
These are just a few of the skills you need to become a top notch medical administrative assistant. With only an associate degree, you can enter into a field with great advancement potential and good job prospects. As the healthcare industry expands, so does the need for qualified administrative assistants. You can progress from an administrative assistant to an office manager with the right combination of education and experience. Get your degree, become certified and enjoy a career in a growing field.
