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Hospitals and Health Systems
Mayo Clinic, HCA Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
This job keeps a medical office moving by answering calls, checking patients in, collecting forms, and making sure records and messages reach the right person. It mixes patient-facing service with behind-the-scenes paperwork, so being calm and accurate matters just as much as being friendly. The tradeoff is that the work can be busy and repetitive, while the pay is modest for the amount of coordination it takes.
Also known as Medical Office AssistantMedical ReceptionistMedical Office SecretaryPatient Services RepresentativeHealthcare Administrative Assistant
Median Salary
$44,640
Mean $45,580
U.S. Workforce
~831K
85.9K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+4.2%
850K to 885.3K
Entry Education
High school diploma or equivalent
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants sits in the Healthcare category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~831K workers, with a median annual pay of $44,640 and roughly 85.9K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 850 K in 2024 to 885.3K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with High school diploma or equivalent, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Medical Office Receptionist and can progress toward Lead Medical Office Supervisor. High-value skills usually include EHR Systems (Epic, Cerner, athenahealth), Medical Scheduling & Practice Management Software, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), paired with soft skills such as Speaking, Active Listening, and Service Orientation.
Core Responsibilities
- Answer phone calls, take messages, and send patients or outside callers to the right nurse, doctor, or office staff member.
- Greet patients and visitors, check them in, and collect intake forms, insurance details, and other paperwork.
- Keep patient files, charts, and office records organized and up to date.
- Pass lab results, forms, and other messages to the right staff member by email, fax, or internal systems.
Keep exploring: more Healthcare careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Answer phone calls, take messages, and send patients or outside callers to the right nurse, doctor, or office staff member.
02 Greet patients and visitors, check them in, and collect intake forms, insurance details, and other paperwork.
03 Keep patient files, charts, and office records organized and up to date.
04 Pass lab results, forms, and other messages to the right staff member by email, fax, or internal systems.
05 Handle basic office paperwork such as billing, payments, collections, and simple bookkeeping tasks.
06 Order supplies and keep the front desk and back office stocked and organized.
Industries That Hire
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Physician Practices and Outpatient Clinics
One Medical, Cleveland Clinic, Sutter Health
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Urgent Care and Walk-In Centers
CityMD, Concentra, Carbon Health
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Specialty Care Clinics
DaVita, Fresenius Medical Care, UPMC
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Dental and Orthodontic Offices
Aspen Dental, Heartland Dental, Smile Brands
Pros and Cons
Advantages
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It is relatively easy to enter, since the typical starting point is a high school diploma and employers usually provide moderate on-the-job training.
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Demand is steady: employment is projected to reach 885.3K by 2034, with about 85.9K annual openings.
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The work is varied, combining patient check-in, phone calls, records, and billing instead of one narrow task all day.
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The skills transfer well to other healthcare office roles, including billing, scheduling, records, and office coordination.
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You work close to patients and clinical staff, which can be satisfying if you like helping people in a structured office setting.
Challenges
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The pay is not especially high for the workload: the median wage is $44,640 and the mean is $45,580.
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The front desk can be stressful because you deal with worried patients, missed appointments, billing questions, and constant interruptions.
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A lot of the job is repetitive paperwork and data entry, so small mistakes can slow down care or create billing problems.
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There is a real career ceiling if you stay in the same title; moving up often means specializing or stepping into supervision.
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Self-check-in kiosks, patient portals, and automation can reduce some of the simpler front-office tasks over time.
Career Progression
Medical Office Receptionist
0-2 years
$33K-$39K
New workers handle check-in, phones, basic forms, and simple office support while learning the clinic's systems and routines.
Medical Secretary / Administrative Assistant
2-5 years
$40K-$50K
At this level, workers juggle calls, records, intake paperwork, and billing support with less supervision and more patient contact.
Senior Medical Secretary THIS ROLE
5-8 years
$51K-$60K
Experienced workers take on harder scheduling issues, train newer staff, and handle more complex record and insurance tasks.
Lead Medical Office Supervisor
8+ years
$61K-$72K
Supervisors coordinate front-office operations, set workflow standards, and handle escalations from patients, staff, and providers.
Education Paths
High school diploma or equivalent
The most common entry path, held by 47.63% of workers in this role, and usually enough when paired with on-the-job training.
Associate's degree in medical office administration or a related field
A two-year degree is another common route, held by 25.97% of workers, and can help applicants compete for larger offices or more responsibility.
Post-secondary certificate in medical office or administrative support
This is a popular alternative path used by 19.88% of workers, especially for people who want a faster route into medical office work.
Moderate-term on-the-job training after hire
Many employers train new hires on scheduling systems, records procedures, and front-desk routines once they are already working.
Key Skills
Technical
EHR Systems (Epic, Cerner, athenahealth) 82%
Medical Scheduling & Practice Management Software 78%
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) 74%
Insurance Verification & Billing Systems 70%
Fax, Scanners, VoIP Phones & Office Systems 66%
HIPAA-Compliant Records Management 62%
Soft Skills
SpeakingActive ListeningService OrientationReading ComprehensionTime ManagementCoordination Job Outlook and Trends
+4.2%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
85.9K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 850K to 885.3 K over the next decade, representing 4.2% growth. Around 85.9 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Limited. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.