There are a lot of jobs to be had in healthcare. Demand for medical services is high, thanks in part to an aging patient population and improved insurance coverage. Meanwhile, today’s healthcare workforce is retiring in droves, leaving a lot of jobs unfilled.

The clinician shortage gets a lot of attention, but there are also plenty of medical front office jobs needing to be filled. As many as 66% of patients over 65 have multiple chronic conditions, and that means a lot of care coordination. With fewer clinicians to go around, practices have an even greater need for skilled office assistants.

What Does a Medical Front Office Assistant Do?

Medical front office administration is a fast-paced job that makes a real difference. If you’re working in this role, you will most likely be working directly with patients every day, scheduling their appointments and greeting them when they arrive.

A medical front office assistant needs to be friendly and compassionate but also organized and efficient. There’s a lot that has to get done, from making sure forms are filled out properly to checking supplies so that they don’t run low. Front office assistants are often the point people for all of these tasks.

Each office assistant position will have different responsibilities, largely depending on whether it’s for a specialty practice, primary care office or hospital. Larger clinics and hospitals usually have front office assistants working in groups, whereas smaller practices might only have one office assistant functioning as part of the overall clinical team.

What Are the Qualifications for Employment?

Like any administrative position, a job as a medical front office assistant requires a good balance of organizational and people skills. All the skills of an office administrator are important in the medical office, such as:

• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Taking phone calls
• Filing and record-keeping
• Professional communication
  

You also need to know how a doctor’s office or hospital functions. That includes:

• What’s involved in scheduling appointments
• How to use diagnostic codes to bill insurance
• How health insurance works
• What needs to get done behind the scenes

The job doesn’t require a college degree, but formal medical administration training can help you to get employed faster.

What to Look for in Medical Front Office Training

First and foremost, look for a training program that’s geared toward certification. The Medical Front Office Administration Specialist program from MedCerts will prepare you to qualify as a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) through the National Healthcareer Association.

You also want the program to be flexible enough to meet your needs if you’re working or trying to find work. MedCerts programs are offered entirely online, and course material is available 24/7, so you can access it at your convenience. The whole program is scheduled to take just 13 weeks.

Using WIOA Funding for Medical Administration Training

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) can make medical front office training available to you where you might not otherwise be able to access it. WIOA funding can cover the entire cost of the Medical Front Office Administration Specialist program at MedCerts, allowing you to learn all of the necessary skills with no out-of-pocket expense.

To learn more, fill out the form below and a MedCerts representative will be in touch soon.