Understanding The Roles of the Medical Office Assistant

Usually, a medical office assistant is always the primary member of the group a patient encounters when she or he visits the doctor or physician. The picture and angle of the assistant is vital in determining whether or not the patients are willing to visit the medical offices again once they have wants to take action in the future. What are the main roles of the medical office assistant?

He or she is responsible to make sure that an office inside a hospital, clinic or medical facility runs smoothly. Most of the time, the assistants could be discovered on the front desk. They are required to greet sufferers and examine them in upon their arrival. The assistants normally take the patients’ temperatures, blood strain and coronary heart rates. After acquiring the sufferers’ medical info and recording their medical history, they are responsible to steer the sufferers into the examination room and prepare them for doctor’s examination. In addition to that, the assistants generally need to explain the medical procedures and therapy to the patients based mostly on the instructions given by the physicians. They are additionally responsible for administering medications and refilling prescriptions. During the identical moment, they’re required to assist the sufferers to finish their insurance coverage forms and cope with the insurance corporations if necessary.

In order for the medical office assistants to carry out their day by day tasks smoothly, they should equip themselves with certain skills. In my personal point of view, wonderful customer support is taken into account vital skill for them. That is simply because they interact immediately with the sufferers a lot of the time. Coping with all levels of individuals can be a difficult task. Each assistant ought to provide high quality customer service with a heart. They’re required to have positive attitude and good serving passion.

Having good computer expertise is as necessary too because virtually all medical assistants are required to use specific medical-report software program at the workplace. They have to have the ability to integrate the sufferers’ information and billing efficiently. In addition, they need to also have the ability to sort with the speed of a minimum of 60 words per minute. All these abilities enable the assistants to play the executive roles well.

In an effort to be extra successful and professional in their career, all the medical assistants are suggested to upgrade their expertise and enhance their data every now and then so that they’ll request for higher remuneration packages in the near future.

It’s needed that you simply understand the precise duties of a medical office assistant to see whether this career really go well with you the most.

Your Worksite and Medical Marijuana

Nowadays, with 14 US states that have legalized medical marijuana, there are perhaps hundreds of thousands of employers, who wonder about the ways to keep the worksite drug free and meantime provide the adequate environment for workers, who are taken through marijuana treatment. In reality, the general medical marijuana topic is a mess. The federal authorities dont want to move from their all marijuana is illegal position and marijuana-legal states have unbelievably different approaches to the issue. Thus, there has never been a better time for reviewing drug policy of your company.

Here are some guidelines to the major white spots:

For enterprises that work for the government, like those with federal contracts, the directing document should be Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, which bans the utilization of marijuana in jobsites that participate in federal contracts.

The DOT Department of Transportation as well bans the use of medical marijuana for employees that are in so-called safety-sensitive positions, such as bus drivers, subway operators, truck drivers, armed transit security, ship captains, and pilots. This ban covers all states, involving the states that have legalized medical marijuana. Thus, even if you have a medical marijuana card, but you have to fly a 757, you have to make sure that your medical marijuanas effect has passed, when you board your pilot seat.

Some attorneys advise to treat marijuana treatment as if it was a use of any other prescription drug, and the worker could do it legally and safely. They claim that such attitude can save employers both money and time in a situation that leads medical marijuana to the point of getting more and more accepted by society and becoming legalized in greater number of states during the next few years.

Different States Different Regulations

First of all, in the legalized states, every patient that has a medical marijuana card is protected from detainment as long as they have dealt with all the needed documentation and has the proof of a doctors approval for their marijuana treatment. But this is just the beginning.

If you live and work in Oregon or California and you are tested positive for marijuana at your workplace, you can get fired. You can even be fired if you use medical marijuana with the required approval, and a prescription from your physician, who takes you through your marijuana treatment.

Just recall a precedent back in 2008 the Ross vs. RagingWire case. Back then, the Supreme Court of California settled that the employer drug test is legal and that it isnt discriminative to fire a worker for marijuana use, even when its not used in the jobsite. Oregon had the Emerald Steel Fabricators, Inc. vs. Bureau of Labor and Industries, the states Supreme Court settled that Oregon employers have to not support the workers medical marijuana use, since the federal law takes priority over state laws.

Patients that undergo marijuana treatment in Vermont, will be most probably arrested if found using or under the influence of medical marijuana in their workplaces. The same is true about New Mexico patients.

In certain states, such as Rhode Island and Maine, you wont be discriminated or fined for your employment of medical marijuana, if you have a medical marijuana card.

In the end, simply dont forget to review the regulations and laws of your state thoroughly, prior to using medical marijuana either at home or in the jobsite.

The Importance of Hospital Billing in the Medical Community

The medical industry is comprised of many divisions and sections which all work together to offer patients a positive experience. This is true whether services are provided through an emergency care center, doctor’s office or any of the many types of medical help offices available. While many will focus on procedures performed at various hospitals and treatment centers, medical service administrative functions are equally as important, including hospital billing.

Hospital billing brings together charges based upon patient stays or procedures performed at a hospital. By coordinating with doctors’ offices throughout the community, this financial department can ensure a smooth relationship between doctors and patients. Because the medical billing process can be complicated, it is important for all entities involved to check information and avoid any discrepancies the patient might find.

While many hospitals employ their own accounting departments, the practice of outsourcing accounting services has risen over the years. This practice can save money while offering a more streamlined process to keep errors to a minimum. Outside sources work hard to provide state-of-the-art technology that can keep transaction costs down while eliminating problems such as fraud. Finding a service that can balance the complexity of a medical network can be a cost saving option that is valuable in economic down times.

In order to maintain a smooth accounting process, doctors should be willing to coordinate their own billing practices with the medical community. If they choose not to participate, errors might occur due to inconsistencies between accounting sources. Doctors should consider being on the same system as community hospitals in order to experience the best value for money invested.

Many healthcare practice management companies exist to provide integrated accounts receivable services for medical communities. Offering professional services with highly experienced staff and management, they often provide a group package at considerable savings that can encompass the entire community’s needs for consistent accounting and collections. Through proven success with the companies they represent, healthcare billing services enable doctors and medical services to focus on their patients’ needs and provide excellent health care.

Medical accounts receivable services will cover all aspects of hospital billing. This includes insurance transactions and follow-up as well as self-pay with follow-up and third-party payments. All aspects of the process will be scrutinized and followed through so that patients can enjoy a more relaxed experience at potentially trying times. Allowing for a more personal patient/doctor relationship, the right hospital billing service can work with the medical community to put an end to financial headaches while making doctors’ practices and hospitals’ procedures more profitable.

The Truth About Home Based Medical Transcription Work

Here are the truths about medical transcription that you can use as a guide if you are thinking of going into this industry and taking up proper medical transcription training.

1. The medical transcription sector is growing.
This is true. Along with the global increase in demand for health care services, the transcription sector is also growing. As more and more patients require proper health care, the efficient recording and retrieval of patient’s records, analysis and doctor recommendations is becoming more critical to performing fast and accurate service. This caused an increase in demand for well trained medical transcriptionists.
Since technology is the primary platform when doing transcription tasks (connected computers and data access and retrieval), it can be performed in any location as long as those who perform the transcription have fast and dependable way to receive audio recordings, process the recordings to text format and send it back to the source of the audio recordings.
This gives rise to work at home transcriptionists who have dependable internet connection, fast computers at home, and have the necessary transcription equipments.

2. You don’t need to become a certified medical transcriptionist.
At present, a valid certificate is not yet a government mandated requirement when applying for medical transcription job though it is ideal to get certified since it will add to your reputation. On most occasions hospitals and companies hiring medical transcriptionists won’t even ask if you are or not a certified medical transcriptionist. What matters most is you have the proper training and appropriate work experience.

3. Medical Transcription Job requires specialized knowledge.
Some people may say that performing a transcription task is easy and won’t require proper knowledge or can be easily learned. This is wrong. The truth is a transcription jobs require specialized knowledge. Sure, using a computer and word processing software is easy but that doesn’t mean you can easily adapt to the language used by doctors. Converting the audio recordings to its text equivalent will require a working knowledge of all the medical terms, procedures and human anatomy. Most of the audio to be transcribed will contain medical abbreviations, and the transcriptionist is required to understand these abbreviations and medical terms.

4. You need proper education.
Similar to what I mentioned above, a transcription job will require specialized knowledge. So, if you are really thinking of starting a career in this industry then be prepared to take formal training. Proper education is required when you’ve decided to start a transcription career and presently you have two options for training. One is to take the training online (which will allow you to study at your own pace at the comfort of your house). Online training usually take up to 8 months to 1 year. If you want classroom interaction then you can apply for an on-campus training which on average will take you up to two years to finish.

5. Medical Transcription is not a get rich quick scheme.
Just to make sure that we are on the same page, keep in mind that a transcription job is not a get rich quick scheme.
So if on your search for a medical transcription job you bump into an ad that tells you how you can make money overnight with medical transcription even for those without experience and ask you to pay them for a list of where to apply, then it should turn-on a red light.
A medical transcription job is something you’ll have to study for or have years of experience doing before you can apply for available jobs or become a home based transcription professional.

National Medical Search Group – A Physician Recruiter With A National Network

Though generally distressing, an economic recession can open windows of opportunity for an optimist. Some people might woefully bow to an economic downturn but a great many will see, instead, great chance to pursue a new position or career. When times become a little tough, some healthcare industry workers keep their eyes open for the right set of circumstances that could propel them into a new venture or practice. Employers in the healthcare industry would do well to seize upon this opportunity to recruit new employees.

National Medical Search Group is an agency that specializes in connecting talented medical professionals with successful medical employers. Networking with over 1000 medical recruiting offices across the United States, National Medical Search Group is a physician recruiter that yields appreciable results for its employer clients. Their well-trained and knowledgeable recruiting team have the skills to be able to efficiently interview and screen medical professionals, validate licenses and certifications, and conduct professional reference checks. After a recruiting drive to fill a temporary staffing gap or a permanent position, National Medical Search Group produces a short-list of highly qualified and available candidates.

Beyond their specialty as physician recruiters, National Medical Search Group also researches, screens and places skilled workers in various healthcare fields, including Healthcare IT, Nurses and Nurse Executives, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Their expert team of recruiters maintain connections across all these fields so as to be able to draw upon valuable pools of resources as positions become available. Without such a broad, national reservoir of talent from which to draw, even an exceptional employer would be challenged to find precisely the right person to fill a role.

As a physician recruiter, National Medical Search Group also partners well with Human Resources departments. Rather than expending time and money to laboriously find medical professionals available for hire, an HR department can make use of the extensive resources and expertise of the National Medical Search Group team to conduct the legwork and compile a list of potential candidates. The recruiting team contacts existing leads seeking interest and referrals; they utilize social networking sites, blogs, directories, and associations to generate leads; they make hundreds of cold calls to qualified leads to draw out the best talent available to fill a medical position. Whether seeking a permanent hire, a short-term staffer or a contingency solution, National Medical Search Group can fill the position.

National Medical Search Group prides itself on its commitment to employer and candidate privacy. No information is shared with other parties without the express consent to do so. National Medical Search Group is also proud to be members or affiliates with several ethnic groups and associations so as to ensure the diversity of their talent resources. A diverse and inclusive workplace is the cornerstone of business growth, and National Medical Search Groups physician recruiting practices reflect this maxim.

For more information or to find out how to place a job order visit NationalMedicalSearch.