Medical Office Assistant Skills

by: Beverly Bernadeth V. Berdon

A successful medical office assistant
also possesses a solid understanding
of:

• Medical terminology
• Industry software applications
• Accounting procedures
• Insurance billing procedures
• Medical ethics and laws
Medical
Medical terminology - is language used to precisely describe the human body
including its components, processes, conditions affecting it, and procedures performed
upon it. ... The roots, prefixes and suffixes are often derived from Greek or Latin, and
often quite dissimilar from their English-language variants.

Examples:
Benign: Not cancerous.
Malignant: Cancerous.
Anti-inflammatory: Reduces swelling, pain, and soreness (such as ibuprofen or
naproxen)
Body Mass Index (BMI): Body fat measurement based on height and weight.
Biopsy: A tissue sample for testing purposes.
Hypotension: Low blood pressure.
Industry
software
applications
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Software

- EHR software is one of the most popular (if not the single most popular) type of
software used by hospitals and clinics. In many ways, it's similar to a CRM, only
adjusted to the medical industry.
•Practice management software ( PMS) - PMS software typically has the ability to:
Capture patient demographics. Schedule appointments. Preregister patients (including
insurance eligibility and benefit checks)
•Hospital management system ( HMS ) - is a computer system that helps manage the
information related to health care and aids in the job completion of health care providers
effectively.
•Lab information management systems ( LIMS ) - is software that allows you to
effectively manage samples and associated data to improve lab productivity.

•Billing software. - is a computer application that automates the healthcare

billing process. 
Insurance billing procedures
Accounting procedures- refers to a practice management that
involves front office skills, insurance claims processing, making decisions
concerning the financial aspects of a practice and all these emphasis
 Medical ethics and
laws

Medical ethics and laws - considers the rights of patients and responsibilities of doctors with
reference to complex moral debate: being legal does not necessarily make a decision or action
ethical.
 Medical Specialty - Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat
(EENT)
• Ophthalmology- deals with diseases
of the eye;

• Otology refers to the ear;

• Rhinology, to the nose; and

• Laryngology, to the throat.