For every direct healthcare provider, there’s a support specialist working behind the scenes. If you want a career in the medical field that doesn’t include drawing blood, consider becoming a medical office specialist. People with good organizational skills and a knack for numbers are in demand to manage insurance claims and other financial issues. As a medical office specialist, you’ll be among the many heroes who don’t wear scrubs.
What Are the Duties of a Medical Office Specialist?
A medical office specialist manages the doctor’s office with administrative duties. The work includes:
Helping with Clerical Work
Medical office specialists are sought after for their unique clerical skills. In healthcare settings, medical office specialists handle some of the paperwork, filing, record keeping, and billing. Whether a physician needs patient records, vendors need invoices or nurses need administrative assistance, the medical office specialist is ready to spring into action.
Medical Coding
Medical office specialists translate health information into medical codes used by insurers, including the government, to calculate reimbursement.
Filing Insurance Claims
Most medical bills in the US are covered by insurance. Medical office specialists are responsible for completing the claim forms and troubleshooting denials. A small portion of claims are initially rejected for insufficient data.
Recordkeeping
Medical office specialists collaborate with the front office and clinical teams to ensure that medical records are complete and accurate, you’ll need the data to file claims. The goal is to keep charts current for both health and financial purposes.
Tracking Payments
Patients and their insurance companies each cover a portion of medical bills. However, when more than one insurer is involved, each pays their fair share in a specific order. Negotiated rates, discounts and other adjustments further complicate the process. Medical office specialists keep a running tally of debits and credits, so balances remain current.
Managing Regulatory Compliance
Healthcare billing is a highly regulated field. Medical office specialists work closely with patient representatives and administrators to manage compliance with legal and ethical standards.
Client Care
Medical office specialists have no clinical responsibilities. However, they still play an important part in patient care, helping patients to navigate what can be a complex billing process. You’ll answer questions, explaining how the claims and billing processes work. Clients feel better informed and more confident paying their balances when they know that insurance resources have been maximized.
How Do I Start a Career as a Medical Office Specialist?
At one time, you could have landed a job as a medical office specialist without formal education or experience. However, the industry is now too complicated for the average employer to risk hiring untrained applicants. The majority of roles in the medical field require at least a diploma and certification. That’s where vocational schools come in.
Online Medical Office Administration with Billing and Coding programs prepare you for entry-level positions in months, not years, using a practical approach to education. The curriculum is comprehensive but focused on the practical skills you need to be a capable medical office specialist. Courses prepare you for certification, positioning you for advancement. With a diploma, you’ll be climbing the career ladder in no time.
What Do I Learn During an Online Medical Office Administration Program?
Online Medical Office Administration with Billing and Coding programs cover a broad range of topics related to healthcare. A few courses include:
Administration & Processing
One of the first courses you will take involves keyboarding and document processing. If you don’t already know how to type using the touch method, you will master the art of typing up to 25 words per minute or more.
During this program, you will also take relevant Microsoft Office programs. A Microsoft Word course will help you with word processing, memo writing, and spell check. Microsoft Excel will help teach you how to use spreadsheets to create data tables and use formulas to calculate medical data quicker.
In association with Microsoft Word, you will attend a business communications course to help you better communicate in a business setting. This will help you communicate verbally, nonverbally and with written communication.
Medical Law and Ethics
Medicine is regulated for public safety, so there’s a mountain of workplace rules, even for medical office specialists. This covers privacy and billing laws so that medical office specialists can work safely. Also discussed are some of the common ethical dilemmas healthcare workers face and how to manage them.
Medical Terminology
Coding requires researching health data, so you’ll need a good grasp of medical terminology. In this course, you’ll learn to decipher the jargon by breaking it down into its parts. Instead of memorizing words, you’ll focus on the prefixes, suffixes, and root words that make up most medical terms. Upon graduation, you’ll feel comfortable interpreting notes and communicating with healthcare providers.
Anatomy and Physiology
Working knowledge of body structure and function helps medical office specialists identify the information they need for insurance forms. Building on what you learned in the medical terminology class, you will explore the primary body systems, abnormal conditions, and common treatments.
Medical Coding and Reimbursement
There are several medical coding systems, each with a unique purpose. This course covers the three most common:
ICD-10 – short for the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision. In use since the early 19th century, it’s the world’s preeminent coding system for disorders, injuries, symptoms, and causes of death. You’ll learn how the manual is organized and indexed to make finding codes easier.
CPT – Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes are used for billing medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures. Developed by the American Medical Association, it’s also used to measure health outcomes for public health and quality assurance initiatives.
HCPCS – the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) is used exclusively by CMS, the Centers for Medicare, and Medicaid Services. It covers certain medical equipment, such as prosthetic devices, certain chemotherapy drugs, and non-medical services such as ambulance transport.
Which coding system you use on the job will depend on where you work and your specific role.
Computerized Medical Practice Management
Healthcare facilities, including doctor’s offices, use practice management software to integrate medical and financial information into a single system from which medical office specialists can access patient data with the click of a mouse.
In this class, you’ll learn about electronic medical records (EMR) and electronic health records (EHR), as well as how medical practice management programs direct workflow. You will practice researching charts and filing insurance claims while trialing organizational features.
Career Development
Careers are journeys, not destinations. You’ll want to grow professionally by cultivating your skills. Entry-level positions typically require a certificate or diploma and industry certification. Becoming certified demonstrates your competency in the field. This course helps you understand your options and how to position yourself for advancement.
Where Do Medical Office Specialists Work?
Medical office specialists work in a variety of settings, each with something different to offer.
Hospitals
Acute care facilities hire medical office specialists to manage the inpatient and outpatient processing. You’ll work with patients, insurers, clinical staff, and administrators to ensure timely processing. Busy hospitals offer a wide range of growth opportunities.
Clinics
Medical office specialists handle administrative duties in urgent care and specialty practices. If you’re intrigued by a specific area of medicine, such as urology, cardiology, women’s health or geriatrics, a job in a specialty clinic might be just what the doctor ordered.
Doctor’s Offices
Private practices rely on medical office specialists to oversee administrative tasks and accounting responsibilities. Unlike in hospitals, however, the division of labor is less clear. Instead of handling only one aspect of administration, you’ll manage many. It’s a good place to start honing your skills while exploring your future.
Public Agencies
Medical office specialists process claims for Medicare and Medicaid, the country’s largest insurers. Public health offices also hire office specialists to analyze the data and statistics used to allocate health resources and develop outreach programs.
Is a Medical Office Administration Career Right for You?
Medical office administration is a secure and rewarding field. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that over 30,000 medical office specialist are working in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metropolitan area. That means a job as a medical secretary or medical office specialist could be in your future.
But the career you choose should be a good fit for your interests and aptitudes. This is a good career for you if:
You’re Passionate about Healthcare
Not everyone with a passion for wellness is cut out to be a doctor or nurse. If you want to work in the medical field, in a non-clinical capacity, becoming a medical office specialist is an opportunity to support better health in your community without providing hands-on care.
You’re Comfortable with Technology
Medical office administration is a technology-driven field. If you’re confident with computers, software, and cloud applications, or are willing to learn, it may be a good career choice.
You’re Detail-Oriented
If you enjoy crunching numbers, medical office administration requires attention to detail and decimal-point accuracy. The math isn’t advanced, but it’s exacting.
And Well-Organized
Medical office specialists need sound organizational and time management skills to not drown in their to-do lists. Computers help keep workflow organized, but it will be up to you to allocate your time efficiently.
You’re a Problem-Solver
Medical office specialists troubleshoot accounting errors small and large, so strong problem-solving skills are essential. If analyzing complex issues gives you a sense of satisfaction, a career in the healthcare industry will keep you interested in your role.
And a People-Person
Medical office specialists spend more time spend a lot of time with computers. Still, they must communicate effectively with healthcare providers, insurance companies, patients, and peers. If you can read, write, and articulate your thoughts confidently, you’ll enjoy medical office administration.
Final Thoughts
Working as a medical office specialist isn’t as glamorous as saving lives in the ER. But by managing the office’s administration, you’ll help healthcare facilities survive.
Did learning about the duties of a medical office specialist interest you? You can make yourself very marketable on an entry-level basis with the Online Medical Office Administration With Billing and Coding training program, as you get exposed to computerized accounting, business office administration, and medical and hospital billing. All of these are in demand.
Contact us today to find out more on how to become a medical office specialist on Long Island.