Medical Receptionist Salary And Job Description

Medical receptionists are professional receptionists that perform normal receptionist duties using medical knowledge such as medical terminology, hospital and clinical practices. They may schedule appointments, take payments and update medical charts. They often work in medical offices and other types of medical facilities.

Medical Receptionist Description

The main job of a medical receptionists is to run the front office of a medical practice. They are the first person a patient will come into contact with. This will include various duties. They greet visitors and determine the reason for the visit. They direct visitors to the correct areas or staff. They answer phones and direct calls to other staff members. They schedule patient appointments and confirm diagnostic visits, surgeries and medical procedures. They operate several types of office equipment including computers, printers, scanners, voice mail and more. Complete insurance forms and send them to insurance companies for payment. Receive and distribute documents and faxes to the appropriate staff members. Interview patients to complete medical forms and insurance claims. Keep and maintain medical records, reports, lab results and correspondence. Send medical records to other offices and insurance companies by mail, electronic mail and faxes. Send correspondence and route correspondence to the correct staff.

Medical Receptionist Salary Range

The national average medical receptionist salary is currently $32,000 per year or an hourly wage of $16. The amount that a medical receptionist makes will depend on job duties, experience, education, type of office you work in and even the location that you work in. Experience is very important when it comes to the amount for the medical receptionist wage. A new medical receptionist with little or no experience has a starting medical receptionist wage of $21,000 per year or $10 an hour. With five years of experience the medical receptionist salary will increase to $26,000 per year or $12 hourly. Ten years of experience will net a medical receptionist a pay rate of $15 an hour or $31,000 a year. Fifteen years of experience in the field will increase the medical receptionist income to $38,000 per year or $18 an  hour. The top level of experience is met when you have at least twenty years of experience. At this high experience level the average medical receptionist salary is $46,000 per year or an hourly salary of $22. The amounts listed above are averages and it is possible to make even more than the listed amounts.

Medical Receptionist Education

In order to become a medical receptionist you will need to possess the skills and knowledge that it takes to work in an medical office environment. Many medical receptionists take classes in dictation, typing, telephone etiquette and more. Most medical offices require medical receptionist to have a certificate in medical technologies or secretarial certificate. This certificate takes about nine months to a year to complete. There is also an associate degree option that will take two years to complete.

Courses of study will include keyboarding, accounting, medical terminology, pharmacology, business English and math, admin office procedures, spreadsheets, databases, word processing, business correspondence, advanced word processing among other topics. Upon completion of this program you may decide to become certified. It is not required but looks great on a resume and will provide a higher rate of pay. Certification will involve taking and passing a certification test. Maintaining your certification may involve taking continuing educational courses or additional exams. Testing is typically required when applying for receptionist jobs. Tests may include typing, dictation, computer programs, medical terminology and more. Employment is generally offered as a condition of passing these skills tests.

Medical Receptionist Work Environment

The work environment for a medical receptionist is generally working the front desk in a doctor’s office, medical facility, medical group or other type of medical facility. Some medical receptionists work as virtual assistants from their own homes or office spaces. The environment is typically sterile, well lit, temperature controlled and nicely maintained. You may work as a part of a large team or be the only person in the front of the office. The normal schedule for medical receptionists is typically a normal forty hours per week. This typically is a Monday through Friday schedule although there may be some weekend hours required depending on the office that you work in.

Medical Receptionist Outlook

The job of a medical receptionist offers many benefits including vacation time, medical and health insurance among other benefits. Medical receptionist are among one of the fastest growing and expanding office careers out there these days.

Currently there are more than 509,000 people employed as medical receptionists. The medical receptionist career is seeing an expected growth rate of forty one percent. This is well above the growth rate expected for other office careers. Most receptionists are seeing a growth rate of six to thirteen percent. With the high need for medical receptionists, there is to an additional 210,000 jobs added to the job market.