Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Also called: Administrative Support Specialist, Appointment Scheduler, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMMA), Client Service Coordinator, Clinic Office Assistant, Clinic Receptionist, Dental Front Desk Receptionist, Dental Front Office Coordinator
Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures.
What medical secretaries and administrative assistants do
Typical tasks
- Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
- Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
- Complete insurance or other claim forms.
- Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
- Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
- Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
- Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
- Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.
- Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
- Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.
- Perform various clerical or administrative functions, such as ordering and maintaining an inventory of supplies.
- Transcribe recorded messages or practitioners' diagnoses or recommendations into patients' medical records.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants salary
The median annual wage for medical secretaries and administrative assistants is $45,930 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $35,930 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $60,530. The mean annual wage is $46,800.
The mean hourly wage of $22.00 is 3.0× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $45,930 → in 3 years $49,100 → in 5 years $51,400 → in 10 years $57,400 (10-year range $49,400–$66,700). The model assumes pay growth of +2.3% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants United States | 調剤薬局事務 Japan | 介護事務 Japan | 医療事務 Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $45,930 | ¥5.29M ≈ $33,620 | ¥5.29M ≈ $33,620 | ¥5.29M ≈ $33,620 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $57,400 | ¥6.01M | ¥5.96M | ¥6.01M |
| Outlook score | 41 | 36 | 35 | 39 |
| AI replacement risk | 76% High | 75% High | 78% High | 75% High |
| Workers | 962K | — | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become medical secretaries and administrative assistants
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as medical secretaries and administrative assistants
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.