To become a successful hospital receptionist, one must familiarize oneself with the healthcare landscape. Going to a hospital can be an uncomfortable experience for many. The hallway maze, clinical rooms, and the smell of the air can make someone’s initial contact stressful.
In fact, this research has found that hospitalization can be a traumatic event, often negatively affecting patient outcomes.
Additionally, a systematic review highlighted that hospital stays bring many stressors, which can hinder a patient’s recovery.
On top of the overwhelming environment, dealing with the hospital staff could be stressful. This is why hospital receptionists are essential in healthcare facilities.
Witness Real Testaments of Efficiency in the Field!
As the first point of contact, a compassionate receptionist ensures that people feel welcomed and comfortable.
In addition, they can help schedule appointments and manage critical medical records accurately.
Hospital receptionists make the hospital experience more manageable and less intimidating.
If you want to become a successful hospital receptionist, read the ultimate guide below:
Definition and responsibilities
Becoming a hospital receptionist brings many benefits and responsibilities. Understanding these can help prepare the skills you need to advance in this career and in the healthcare industry.
Definition
Hospital receptionists are:
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The first point of contact for hospital visitors, patients, and staff
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Equipped with administrative skills and patience for human interactions
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Responsible for scheduling appoints and managing medical records
Responsibilities
1. Greeting and assisting patients
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Hospital receptionists welcome patients and visitors as they arrive inside the premises.
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They provide directions and answer inquiries about the hospital’s general information, such as the complete list of healthcare services, list of physicians, departments, and healthcare procedures.
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They also ensure that the hospital or clinic lobby looks and feels comforting and professional at all times
2. Scheduling appointments
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A medical receptionist manages patient appointments with the healthcare providers (HP)
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They use Electronic Health Records (EHR) and management software to track those scheduled appointments.
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They also make sure the appointments have been confirmed to reduce patient wait times and optimize the medical staff’s workflow
3. Perform administrative duties
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Hospital receptionists file and enter medical data
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They manage the medical office supplies and process patient admissions and discharges
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They also handle billing and insurance concerns, filling insurance forms, and answer questions from patients about processing their payment
4. Managing medical records
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As a medical receptionist, you will maintain patient records, making sure they’re up-to-date
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They handle sensitive information like the patient’s file and comply with HIPAA regulations
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They also help in organizing patient files for consultations and treatments
5. Communication
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A medical receptionist will answer phone calls, emails, and online chats
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They address patient inquiries and direct phone calls to the right departments
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They also communicate with the medical staff to relay crucial information about the patient
Building foundational knowledge
If you want to become a successful hospital receptionist, there are two areas you need to focus on learning and familiarizing yourself with: medical terms and concerns from the patient.
Medical terminology
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Enroll in short but certified courses that teach medical terms, which are often accessible online or in community college.
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In a medical terminology course, you will learn the basics of medical language, helping you understand healthcare providers better.
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You can try joining platforms like Udemy, Coursera, or Khan Academy. They offer free courses which can help you get familiarized with the most basic but important medical terms.
Patient concerns
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If you have zero experience dealing with patients in a medical setting, you can volunteer to learn how to handle patient concerns.
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Through practical experience, you can learn the best approach and how to adjust your demeanor when talking to patients.
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To prepare for practical experience, you may start reading articles and journals on free websites like PubMed and Healthline. These sources offer reputable insights into the most common medical concerns.
Developing the essential skills
After building a foundational bank of knowledge, you need to equip yourself with the essential skills of being a hospital receptionist. Here are the skills you need to learn or improve to succeed in this career path:
Communication and interpersonal skills
Customer service skills
If you’ve worked at a fast food restaurant or a customer-facing environment, then consider yourself already prepared.
Learning how to interact positively with people is essential to become a successful hospital receptionist.
On the other hand, if you don’t have customer service experience, explore platforms like LinkedIn Learning. They have relevant courses that will help you develop interpersonal skills for a people-facing job.
You can also ask a friend to join you in a role-playing scenario to help practice your interpersonal skills.
Admin and technical skills
Software proficiency
Learn how to navigate EHR systems and management software. Many healthcare employers require that you know your way around these applications. While other physicians provide free training to medical receptionists, you can still benefit from learning these systems on your own first.
Administrative courses and workshops
If you haven’t worked in a corporate office environment before, you might need to enroll in office administration courses. These should cover lessons in scheduling appointments, record-keeping, and basic phone etiquette for medical receptionists.
Education and training
Formal education
Not all employers require formal education from a medical receptionist, but others do.
If you want to make sure you’ll be considered for a role, you can always go back to school and pursue a degree in a healthcare-related field.
You don’t need to study medicine itself—there are online programs that teach medical administration and hospital management.
These will provide you with a strong foundation should you pursue a career as a medical receptionist.
Certification
Here are some online certifications you can acquire if you want to become a successful hospital receptionist:
1. Certified Medical Admin Assistant (CMAA)
Provided by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), this certification covers lessons in performing administrative tasks in a healthcare setting. It also teaches patient appointment scheduling, record management, and billing management to medical receptionists.
This is a nationally recognized certification, so acquiring this certification increases your chance of being hired in various states.
2. Certified Medical Receptionist (CMR)
This certification is offered by CareerStep, Penn Foster, and other online colleges. It covers skills such as handling patient accounts, patient interaction, medical terms, and office management.
3. Medical Office Receptionist Certification
Provided by Ashworth College and the US Career Institute, this comprehensive program teaches skills like medical billing, coding, and patient communication. This certification gives you a strong foundation in medical office administration specifically.
4. Medical Terminology Certification
This certification is more focused on teaching you how to accurately use medical terms, which is critical for hospital receptionists. This equips you with the essential advanced knowledge of how to communicate with hospital staff and patients. You can get this certification in Coursera or edX.
5. Healthcare Administration Certificate
You can find this certificate in Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. You can learn admin skills, healthcare regulations, and office management principles in this course. This is not a specialized course, mind you. It teaches the students with a broad understanding of healthcare administration, which still applies to hospital reception roles.
Career advancement for a receptionist job
Suppose you’ve been hired as a medical receptionist. You’ve been praised for doing a good job with your tasks — but now you’re a bit bored. If you want more responsibilities and a higher salary, you can always aim to advance beyond your current role.
Here are some tips on how to do it:
1. Seek more responsibilities
Aside from your current tasks, you can gradually ask for more management responsibilities. Show your superiors that you can handle more responsibilities by taking initiative and helping them with training newbies.
2. Pursue higher education
We mentioned some certifications above, but you can always seek more advanced degrees. For example, if you’re eligible, you can study to get a master’s degree on your weekends or at nights, while you’re working as a hospital receptionist.
3. Network with hospital managers
Apart from studying advanced courses, you’ll also need to talk to people who’ve been there and done that. Talk to hospital managers who have been in their position for more than 7 to 10 years. Ask them if they’re open to mentoring you in becoming a manager. Depending on the mentor, they might or might not ask for a mentoring fee.
