How Medical Office Assistants Help Their Communities

When we think about healthcare, it’s often about nurses, doctors, surgeons, and other specialists. But there are many people involved in healthcare who might seemingly play a minor, but nevertheless, important role in any healthcare setting that we visit. 

Medical office assistants fall into that category. They are the ones who support doctors and other healthcare professionals so that patients can be seen in a timely and accurate manner. In this blog, we’ll go through some of the important things that medical office assistants do that help patients in their communities. 

Making community members feel welcome 

Whether medical office assistants work in a clinic, a hospital, or another setting, they are often the first point of contact with patients and other community members. With great interpersonal skills, medical office assistants make sure that they are understanding the needs of people and making them feel welcome and acknowledged. When they make appointments, build rapport, and keep conflicts to a minimum they are creating a safe environment where people will feel comfortable to return to for health check ups, enhancing the overall health of the area. 

Decreasing wait times to be seen 

Medical office assistants are responsible for making sure that appointments are timely and don’t overlap. When schedules are appropriate, it’s being mindful and respectful of everyone’s time and commitments, including the patients and the doctors, and in turn decreases wait times. Medical assistants can also perform minor medical duties which also helps decrease the time to be seen, such as collecting information about symptoms and checking vital signs, so the doctor can get straight to the heart of the issue and come to a diagnosis and solution. 

Having a key role in supporting doctors and specialists  

Medical assistants take care of a lot of the clerical work including billing, data entry, making sure information is up to date, answering questions, dealing with insurance, claim forms, and referrals. This is a lot of weight off of doctor’s shoulders so they can be better focused on patients’ health rather than administrative tasks. This helps the community because assistants can often be reached immediately for important documents that patients might need.

These are just a few of the ways that medical assistants are helpful to their community. If you’re interested in a career in this field, ABM College’s Medical Office Assistant Diploma is a great way to enter the industry in less than a year. Offering a combined program, it will also prepare you to work as a unit clerk, enhancing your employment opportunities. Learn how you can apply today or read more information about it on our blog.