The person in the position of medical administrative assistant is often the first person a client or patient talks to when entering a medical office, clinic, hospital, or other healthcare facility. Common tasks include greeting the patient, taking information, referring patient questions to appropriate sources, scheduling visits, answering the phone, and other duties as assigned by the employer.
The health unit coordinator is an entry-level health professional that helps maintain and support a healthcare facility. Their duties include setting up charts for hospital admittance, performing data entry, ordering lab tests and x-rays, transcribing physician orders and communicating them to nursing staff and other hospital departments, using computerized order entry systems, setting up and maintaining patient records, managing facility communications (either in person, electronically, or by phone), and keeping the unit in compliance with facility policy and confidentiality regulations.
Using terminology skills, coders/billers research and determine correct billing codes, understand the procedures and diagnoses being coded, and create detailed billing records and invoices. Without the contributions of the medical billing and coding specialists, neither doctors nor insurance companies could properly provide their services to patients.
A phlebotomy technician’s responsibilities include drawing blood and conducting other specimen collections. Phlebotomy technicians also recognize conditions that might alter collections, have a high regard for patient safety, and communicate with the laboratory to ensure the best possible care. They must also understand lab test requirements and maintain specimen quality. Work settings include doctor’s offices, hospitals, research facilities, and industrial laboratories.
Clinical lab assistants perform the basic functions of laboratory work under the supervision of other laboratory professionals. Tasks include processing specimens, simple testing, reporting results, and performing data entry in a laboratory setting. Work settings include doctor’s offices, hospitals, research facilities, and industrial laboratories.
An Emergency Department Technician assesses and manages a wide range of emergency conditions including respiratory, genitor-urinary, and cardiac emergencies. They also assist in wound care and the application of orthopedic splinting devices. Also necessary is familiarization with specialized medical equipment and the ability to communicate effectively with other medical personnel, the patient, and the patient’s family in emergency situations.
Medical Assistants, under the physician’s direction, perform both administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments and maintaining medical records and clinical duties such as taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, drawing blood, getting patients ready for examinations. Medical Assistants typically serve in the outpatient setting at physician’s offices, clinics and multi-specialty facilities.
