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Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants: Career Overview
Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.
What Tasks Do Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Do?
Typical responsibilities of medical secretaries and administrative assistants include:
- Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
- Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
- Complete insurance or other claim forms.
- Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
- Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
- Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
- Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
- Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.
Skills and Knowledge
Effective medical secretaries and administrative assistants draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Administrative Support Specialist
- Appointment Scheduler
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMMA)
- Client Service Coordinator
- Clinic Office Assistant
- Clinic Receptionist
- Dental Front Desk Receptionist
- Dental Front Office Coordinator
How Many Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Are There?
There are about 1,240,329 medical secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +6.9% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $61,212 |
| Hourly median | $29.43 |
| 10th percentile | $43,061 |
| 25th percentile | $52,136 |
| 75th percentile | $70,287 |
| 90th percentile | $79,363 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Washington | $56,920 |
| California | $52,720 |
| Massachusetts | $50,190 |
| Oregon | $49,570 |
| Minnesota | $48,820 |
| Connecticut | $48,720 |
| Hawaii | $48,620 |
| Alaska | $48,160 |
| New York | $48,090 |
| Rhode Island | $47,540 |
| District of Columbia | $47,240 |
| Wisconsin | $46,880 |
| Maryland | $46,690 |
| New Jersey | $46,610 |
| New Hampshire | $46,550 |
| Arizona | $46,510 |
| Vermont | $45,840 |
| Colorado | $45,390 |
| Illinois | $45,200 |
| Nebraska | $44,780 |
| Maine | $44,690 |
| South Dakota | $44,420 |
| Virginia | $44,260 |
| North Dakota | $44,040 |
| Nevada | $43,870 |
| Delaware | $43,190 |
| Pennsylvania | $42,990 |
| Missouri | $42,030 |
| Ohio | $41,980 |
| Idaho | $41,920 |
| New Mexico | $41,810 |
| Wyoming | $41,760 |
| Indiana | $41,640 |
| Georgia | $40,880 |
| Virgin Islands | $40,700 |
| Utah | $40,470 |
| Michigan | $40,050 |
| North Carolina | $39,930 |
| Montana | $39,870 |
| Texas | $39,560 |
| Kansas | $39,540 |
| Florida | $39,450 |
| Iowa | $39,240 |
| South Carolina | $38,760 |
| Tennessee | $38,630 |
| Kentucky | $38,010 |
| Oklahoma | $37,990 |
| West Virginia | $37,660 |
| Mississippi | $36,570 |
| Alabama | $36,310 |
| Louisiana | $35,930 |
| Arkansas | $35,910 |
| Guam | $29,590 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,820 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Pay for medical secretaries and administrative assistants differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $52,184 | 18.6% | 1.16 |
| New England | $48,660 | 4.7% | 1.06 |
| Middle Atlantic | $46,006 | 11.9% | 0.83 |
| Plains States | $43,629 | 5.9% | 0.94 |
| Rocky Mountains | $42,982 | 3.0% | 0.82 |
| Great Lakes | $42,416 | 12.8% | 0.97 |
| Southwest | $40,658 | 12.1% | 0.96 |
| Southeast | $39,482 | 30.2% | 1.43 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $67,380 | 5,890 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $61,090 | 14,000 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $60,940 | 480 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $60,470 | 7,110 |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $60,260 | 940 |
| Bellingham, WA | WA | $57,360 | 230 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | CA | $56,980 | 1,170 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $56,300 | 7,640 |
Top Industries Employing Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The bulk of medical secretaries and administrative assistants work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 753,180 | $44,530 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 18,760 | $45,280 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 14,000 | $46,620 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 12,650 | $45,110 |
| Educational Services | 9,480 | $49,140 |
| Finance and Insurance | 7,110 | $46,150 |
| Retail Trade | 1,860 | $39,300 |
| Information | 1,150 | $43,230 |
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants work in the following industries:
Tools and Technology
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
- Medical software: Henry Schein Dentrix (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for medical secretaries and administrative assistants tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Contact With Others
- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks
Getting Started in This Career
Most medical secretaries and administrative assistants positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Medical and Health Services Managers (Supplemental)
- Emergency Medicine Physicians (Supplemental)
- Pharmacy Technicians (Supplemental)
- Medical Records Specialists (Primary-Short)
- Patient Representatives (Primary-Long)
- Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars (Supplemental)
- Medical Assistants (Primary-Short)
- Medical Transcriptionists (Primary-Long)
Where to Study
Students preparing for medical secretaries and administrative assistants typically earn programs in:
Health Professions and Related Programs
5 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-6013.00 (Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants).
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