MEDICAL OFFICE ASSISTANT
Department: Operations
Accountable To: Office Manager; Assistant Office Manager
Classification: Non-Exempt
JOB SUMMARY
The Medical Office Assistant provides a variety of clerical duties associated with patient care.
The Medical Office Assistant maintains a pleasant, courteous, and cooperative manner with patients,
visitors, and Franklin Primary Health Center personnel.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Greets, registers, and receives all patients, visitors, and staff in a professional and courteous manner. Ascertains the nature of business and directs patients, visitors, staff, or callers to the appropriate department or person.
- Answers the telephone and provides information to callers, screens and routes calls to the appropriate destination in a courteous, professional, and efficient manner. Obtains and records the caller’s name, time of call, nature of business, and person called upon.
- Schedules patient appointments for providers and prepares daily appointment schedule printouts for provider(s).
- Retrieves patient charts for office visits and for doctors’ or nurses’ telephone calls requiring patient information.
- Interviews patients to obtain demographic data during the initial office visit. Updates patient demographic information and proof of income every six months or as necessary.
- Reviews patient and appropriate family member income information to determine qualification for sliding fee scale adjustments.
- Generates encounter forms. Assembles medical record charts for new patients or retrieves existing charts, places encounter forms on charts, and routes them to the nurses’ station. Places charts in sequence for provider examination or treatment.
- Keeps patient records accurately identified.
- Checks charts daily for incomplete histories and brings incomplete information to the attention of the appropriate member of the healthcare team for correction.
- Receives and processes patient payments. Reconciles payment receipts by matching receipts against money sheets and entry session totals on computer terminals at the end of each day. Prepares, mails, and maintains records for the insurance claims process.
- Prepares deposit slips and secures deposits for transport to Accounts Receivable.
- Matches encounter forms at the end of the day and has duplicates made as necessary.
- Maintains the confidentiality of patient medical information and work materials as appropriate.
The above reflects the general duties considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job
and shall not be considered a detailed description of all work that may be assigned by the supervisor or
that may be inherent in the position.
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Maintains the reception area in a neat and orderly condition at all times.
- Maintains prompt arrival and regular attendance at work.
- May perform work of a higher level in preparation for increased responsibility.
- Responsible for incoming and outgoing mail distribution for the assigned department.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REQUIREMENTS
Must provide the very best customer satisfaction to patients, visitors, and co-workers at all times in a
professional and courteous manner. This includes doing things right the first time, making people feel
welcome, showing respect for each customer, anticipating customer needs and concerns, keeping customers
informed, helping and going the extra mile, responding quickly, protecting privacy and confidentiality,
demonstrating proper telephone etiquette, taking responsibility for handling complaints, being professional,
and taking ownership of one’s attitude toward Service Excellence.
PRIVACY RULE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
- Adheres to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA Privacy Rule) policies and procedures.
- Must successfully complete Privacy Rule compliance training annually or as revisions are made to policies and procedures.
- Must comply with Privacy Rule guidelines by protecting FPHC patients’ medical privacy.
- Must appropriately maintain patient information in compliance with national standards.
- Must provide appropriate security of FPHC patient records.
HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
- Must adhere to safety regulations, personnel policies, and procedures.
- Must receive Safety and Hazardous Communication training annually.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Performance will be evaluated by the Office Manager or designee annually, wherein an overall satisfactory
rating is considered the minimum acceptable level of performance.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education:
High school graduate or GED equivalent. Graduate of an approved Medical Office Assistant Program or an
equivalent combination of training, education, and work experience relative to the position. Pleasant
personality, good telephone etiquette, public relations skills, and good communication skills are required.
Experience:
One or more years of work experience in a medical setting with knowledge of medical terminology and CPT
coding helpful. Insurance billing work experience involving Medicaid, Medicare, and other third-party
insurance carriers.
Skills:
Medical terminology and CPT and ICD-9 coding experience. Good human relations skills with the ability to
deal effectively with patients and visitors in person or by telephone. Keyboard, insurance billing, and
medical records experience required. Ability to operate a multi-line telephone, copier, adding machine,
fax machine, and other office equipment.
Other Qualifications:
Strong English communication skills are required. Bilingual and bicultural candidates are encouraged to apply.
PHYSICAL/MENTAL DEMANDS
Requires eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity. Requires the ability to distinguish letters or symbols.
Requires the use of office equipment such as copiers, computer terminals and keyboards, telephones, calculators,
and fax machines. Requires normal vision range and frequent standing, sitting, bending, stooping, or stretching.
PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI) ACCESS
Restricted Access: For purposes of HIPAA compliance, this position is classified under
Administrative Staff and is therefore granted restricted access to Protected Health Information (PHI),
as defined according to the purpose for which the use or disclosure is intended.
Classification: Non-Exempt