Medical Office Manager Jobs

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: March 1st, 2010

What employment settings can healthcare management professionals work for?

These professionals can work for private practice physicians’ offices, corporate run practices, clinics (including private, non-profit, and government), hospitals, outpatient care facilities and other health care entities. The most common setting for employment is a private practice physician’s office. Physicians’ offices run the gamut from family practice to dermatologists’ offices, psychologists’ offices, obstetrician/gynecology offices, pediatricians’ offices, etc.

Learn more about medical office manager training.

What is within the professional scope of a medical office manager?

Most healthcare management professionals are able to hire and terminate employees, except of course the physician if they own Medical Office Manager Jobs

the practice. In some corporate run practices there is a hierarchy in place that the office management professional must go through. If there is something a doctor or other medical staff recommends that is needed from a clinical standpoint, the medical office manager typically acknowledges the recommendation because they do not always have training in health care. It would be the office manager’s job to research options for equipment, study costs and return on investment, and make recommendations as to the feasibility of purchasing the equipment. Also, while medical office managers are able to audit charts for compliance and from a billing standpoint, they cannot say whether a procedure was “medically necessary”.

How can a medical office manager alleviate a negative situation?

While a medical office manager does not typically come in regular contact with patients, they are certainly available when patients have issues or problems with the office or medical staff or vice versa. For instance if a certain member of the medical staff is repeatedly accused of being rude to patients, the medical office manager will need to address that. Also, if a patient is continually not showing up for his/her appointments and not calling to notify the office that he/she will miss an appointment, or if they are being blatantly rude to the office staff, the medical office manager may address this with the patient. Also, for human error mistakes such as the incorrect coding of a bill, the medical office manager is responsible for alleviating these problems as they arise and doing what is fair for the patient. The office manager also helps is if the office is short staffed, in which case he/she may need to step in and fill another role for the day.