Current job title: Office Manager
Industry: Healthcare
Department: Clinical Services
Years worked in this industry: 16
Years worked in this department: 3
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): I got into
the industry after taking a vocational course that focused on clerical
support in the healthcare industry.
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 1 (owner/president)
Typical work hours: 8:30 am 6:30 pm
Weekends or overtime hours: Weekends on
occasion, overtime nearly daily. Not so in the hospital, but small
business is different.
General salary range
(Note: This is a general figure or range provided by survey respondent and may
NOT be an exact salary in order to
give survey respondent some privacy. Also you must take into account that
the number of years worked in industry/department may contribute to this
salary as well as criteria such as level of position and person reports
to, required hours and geographical location.): $38,000
$50,000 for a well seasoned highly effective executive assist/office
manager.
Benefits (direct or indirect): Minimal
benefits in the small business setting where I am now. Medical, dental
with high deductibles. 401k with no matching. 2 weeks a year vacation with
no hope to increase. In the hospital setting there are choices of medical
plans, matching funds for 401k, reimbursement accounts, and generous paid
time off packages.
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
Verification, Predetermination, co-pay, co-insurance, use & disclosure in
the context of HIPAA.
Verification (of benefits) contacting insurance carrier to ensure
medical coverage is active and to find out what the patient deductible,
co-pay, co-insurance and out of pocket maximum are so financial counseling
can be done if needed.
Predetermination decision, put in writing, by the insurance carrier
(usually after they conduct their own medical necessity review) to deny or
approve payment for a medical procedure based on the carriers policies.
Co-pay The amount a patient must pay up front at the time of service.
Co-insurance the percentage of allowed charges that must be paid by
patient. Typically zero to 20 percent.
Use as determined by HIPAA Privacy Rules involves the sharing of
protected health information (any info that gives tools by which the
patient can be discovered) within the organization.
Disclosure - as determined by HIPAA Privacy Rules involves the sharing of
protected health information (any info that gives tools by which the
patient can be discovered) to a person, company or agency outside the
organization.
A typical day on the job: As office
manager my day is spent dealing with staff questions, patient problems,
meetings, collecting hours for payroll, reading and responding to e-mail
from staff, the doctor/president/owner, and vendors. Often I am helping to
fix a software or hardware problem. When theyve all gone, I approve bills
for the bookkeeper, write policies & procedures, schedule travel for the
doctor, scan documents, file documents, write letters etc.
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: It never allows an opportunity
for boredom; there are always multiple priorities and time constraints to
deal with. The people you work with are usually both fun and interesting.
You get to witness life changing moments for people more often than not,
they are good ones. You also get to use all the MS Office products which
is fun if you enjoy being high-end software user.
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: Small businesses often will
under-pay and over-work. Physicians will sometimes display ugly
temperaments and some can be very difficult to work with one must learn
to not personalize the attitudes and comments.
Type of workspace/office:
Seldom do admin assists in healthcare get their own office. As office
manager I have my own office.
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position:
Communicate everything to
everyone (as appropriate) completely and professionally.
Keep your mouth shut about everything that is not public information.
Always remain optimistic and positive despite the circumstances to peers,
subordinates, leaders, clients, vendors and business associates putting
the organization and those who work for it in a good light to everyone.
Anticipate the needs, exceed them in advance. If it is a manager, client
or vendor having things ready before they expect it, more done than they
expect and more organized than they expect will build confidence and
good-will.
Make excellent decisions. Whats priority, what can wait, when to step out
and make a decision on your own, when to defer a decision etc.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement: I
would require them to perform as noted above and to have a strong
knowledge of healthcare administration and the legal implications of work
and words in healthcare.
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Client computers (Client/server network), adding machines, copy machine,
scanner, printer, credit card approval machine.
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
A lot of specialized software in healthcare one must be able to learn
and embrace new software technologies pretty quickly for registration
software, electronic medical record software, also the MS Office suite,
Visio, Windows, etc.
Critical soft skills: Excellent
communication skills. Ability to work with difficult and angry people
(doctors, patients), great customer service, love to work under pressure
and multi-task, humor, joyful or positive attitude, resourceful (always
able to get what is required or make something happen), strong writing
skills, proficient in MS Word, strong in other MS Office applications.
Able to maintain a high degree of confidentiality (HIPAA requirement).
Pace of this position: Very fast in
both the small business and hospital settings.
Geographical region: Pacific Northwest
U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach