What is an Medical Assistant?
Medical Assistants are staff members that aid in the administrative work of healthcare. Administrative work ensures that healthcare facility runs at optimal performance. For example, administrative medical assistants oversee appointment scheduling, maintaining stock and supplies, and billing for reimbursement from insurance companies.
What is it like to be an Medical Assistant?
Medical Assistants can work in Doctors’ Offices, Hospitals, and Other Outpatient Care Centers. If an AMA is working in a hospital setting they will often be in contact with Nurses Doctors, P.A.’s and N.P.’s to revise patient charts to ensure all information is correct before it is sent to be billed. In hospital settings, the AMA will have to be conscious of certain procedures such as surgeries and the number of surgeons assigned to add the correct modifiers in order for the hospital to receive the appropriate amount of reimbursement. In the doctor’s office setting the AMA works closely alongside the CMA’s and Physicians to obtain the diagnosis and patient care procedures given to the patient. Also, while in a doctor's office setting the AMA will often schedule patient appointments and send off prescriptions.
The salary you can expect to earn as an Medical Assistant
The salary of a Medical Assistant and vary on experience, additional Skill Set, and place of employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average salary of medical assistants is $33,610. The bottom 10% of income earners grossed a salary of $24,790 while the top 10% grossed $47,250. In New Jersey, Administrative Medical Assistants earn a slightly higher salary than the national average at $17.23 an hour.
Reference
31-9092 Medical Assistants. (2019, March 29). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes319092.htm#st