Medical Office Managers

Salary Expectations:

The salary for a medical office manager varies based on a number of factors. The biggest factor is the type of facility or organization. Medical office managers may work in one of the following capacities:

• Hospitals
• Physician Offices
• Outpatient Centers
• Home Health Services
• Skilled Nursing Facilities

The next factor that impacts salary is the level of responsibility which often correlates to the job title.

According to salary.com, here are the latest median salaries for medical office managers for the following job titles:

• Business Office Director..........$110,126.00
• Admitting Director..........$85,457.00
• Health Information Manager..........$101,821.00
• Practice Manager..........$102,176.00

Salary amounts vary based on years of experience, education, and job location. Use the Salary Comparison and Salary Calculator Tool to evaluate the average salary for Medical Office Managers and other medical office jobs.

Nature of the Work:

Medical office managers generally handle the business, management and/or financial side of healthcare depending on the size of the facility, the level of responsibility and job title.

• A small facility such as a physician practice might have a Medical Office Manager that oversees the administrative and clinical operations of the practice. Practice managers are possibly responsible for supervising clinical and clerical staff, managing billing and collections, controlling patient flow, and human resource management.

• A hospital office manager, such as a Business Office Director directs and oversees the revenue cycle of the hospital while the Health Information Manager directs and oversees the medical records department including the privacy and security of the protected health information of patients.
• Medical Office Managers can also work for consulting companies, billing companies, information management systems and other organizations.

Position Requirements:

Job opportunities for medical office managers in most facilities require prior work experience in healthcare and a bachelor's or master's degree in accounting, business or healthcare administration. It is also beneficial to obtain certification from a professional association. For example, the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management or AAHAM, offers a certification program for healthcare professionals to become a Certified Patient Account Manager.

Health Information Managers must also earn certification from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).

Many other professional associations offer certification programs for in a variety of capacities.

• American College of Healthcare Executives
• Healthcare Financial Management Association
• Health Information and Management Systems Society
• Professional Association of Health Care Office Management

Managing the Medical Office:

Job opportunities will continue to exist and grow for those interested in management in the medical office. From medical office management, there are multiple opportunities for advancement within healthcare administration.

Medical Office Managers can advance to Hospital or Nursing Home Administrators, CEO's, consultants, and the list goes on.

Anyone interested in managing the medical office should exhibit some or all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities in the areas of:

1. Basic understanding of healthcare administration
2. Managed Care contracts
3. Leadership skills
4. Organizational management
5. Policies, procedures and compliance planning
6. Marketing
7. Human Resources

Find current job opportunities for medical office managers by visiting indeed.com

A Must Read:

The medical office manager is ultimately responsible for the success of the entire staff.

Managers are required to distribute the work load, motivate and supervise staff, and coordinate the smooth operations of the office. Of course, when things go well, the medical office manager gets all the credit but when things don't go well they also get all the blame.

No matter if you are managing the small staff of a physicians office or the billing staff in a hospital, the manager can accomplish the goals of the organization from the medical office aspect using various tactics.