- Average Salary: Between $21,989 and $31,245
- Prerequisites: High school diploma; completion of prerequisites; friendly, outgoing and caring; strong communication and multitasking skills.
- Known States in Industry: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois
Degree Description:
Medical office administration is essential to the organization and flow of the healthcare industry. Students who are interested in learning about the healthcare industry and want to make it a more efficient and organized business should consider earning a bachelor’s degree in medical office administration. This degree program is typically offered at two-year colleges and technical schools. Students will learn about the basic office procedures and management duties that are done in different healthcare settings. They’ll learn about insurance, medical coding, patient billing and other business-oriented procedures. Expect to take classes in procedures in computerized medical offices, computerized patient billing, introduction of health insurance and medical coding, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology and other related courses.
Salary and Job Outlook:
Graduates of a medical office administration program will be eligible to work in a number of different management and administrative positions, such as medical office assistant, medial administrative assistant, patient representative and administrative assistant. Many graduates seek work as a medical office assistant, who perform administrative office procedures, process health insurance, billing and transcription of medical reports and utilize computerized medical office software. According to PayScale, wage-and-salary medical office assistants made a median salary of anywhere between $21,989 and $31,245 in 2010. The job outlook for medical office assistants is projected to be positive, thanks to the accelerated growth of healthcare and increased needs of healthcare facilities.
Job Prerequisites:
In order to apply for a medical office administration degree, you’ll need to have a high school diploma and complete all prerequisites needed for enrollment in this program. Prospective medical office administration majors should have a strong interest in healthcare and possess good multitasking and communication skills. Medical officer administration students also need to be friendly, outgoing, caring, a good listener and enjoy helping people because this makes up the majority of this job.
Industry Demographics:
In order to find the best medical office administration schools and jobs, you should look at the states that have the highest pay for this occupation. According to PayScale, the top paying states for medical office assistants are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois. You can also look for the states that have the highest concentration of medical office assistants and the employers that pay the most for their services.
Future Options:
If you’ve already earned your bachelor’s degree in medical office administration, it’s not too late to consider additional healthcare degrees. Since there is not a master’s degree program specifically designed for medical office administration, you could pursue an MBA in healthcare management or administration instead. These graduate degrees will increase your job responsibilities and make you eligible for advanced healthcare administration and supervisory positions.
