Medical Office Manager: An Overview

The first step along the path toward medical office management is to complete the necessary education. Even though these professionals are administrators who don’t deal in hands-on patient care, preparation for this career requires education that is specific to the healthcare industry.

Education requirements for jobs in healthcare management may vary, depending on the size of the organization, the requisite qualifications for specific roles and the level of the role.  At DeVry, we offer health services management- focused degrees and certificates at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including our Bachelor’s Degree Specialization in Health Services Management. Coursework for this degree program, for example, teaches skills in business affairs and strategies, organization of patient flow, budgeting and human resources planning, supervision and hiring of non-medical staff and more.

Looking for something beyond the bachelor’s level? Our Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management can help you get started. This graduate-level certificate can help you get acquainted with the ins and outs of healthcare administration, policy and finance, and can be earned as a standalone credential or as a steppingstone on the way to earning our Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Specialization in Health Services or our Master’s in Public Administration with an Emphasis on Healthcare Management.

Working in settings like medical practices, outpatient medical facilities, hospitals, long-term care facilities and mental health/behavioral health facilities, medical office managers keep track of the facility’s daily operations, expenses and patient billing. Their workday might include:

Because medical office managers often wear many hats, performing a variety of administrative duties and sometimes engaging directly with patients. To help them provide the best care possible, they should take the time to acquire and sharpen skills that may include:

Career opportunities in health services or medical office management are quite diverse. For example, graduates of our Bachelor’s Degree Specialization in Health Services Management may consider careers in medical office supervision, patient accounting and billing systems, managed care coordination, medical computer sales, management of provider networks and other areas of the vast U.S. healthcare industry.

But you may ask, is there strong need for medical office managers in general? The answer is a resounding yes. Based on job outlook data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 28% from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 56,600 job openings in this occupational category are projected each year, on average, over the decade.¹ This growth is projected on a national level and local growth will vary by location. This projection is not specific to DeVry graduates and may include earners at all stages of their careers.

The BLS accredits this substantial projected job growth to a couple of factors, including the increasing healthcare needs of the baby boomer generation and the widespread adoption of electronic medical records, which is stimulating the demand for managers with knowledge of health information technology and informatic systems. 

If you’re considering a career in medical office management, DeVry University and our Keller Graduate School of Management can help you acquire many of the skills today’s healthcare employees need. We offer several degree and certificate programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels that can prepare you to pursue different careers in healthcare. 

Online learning with DeVry can help you balance your commitment to education with work, family and other aspects of your busy life. Classes start soon. Let’s talk about getting you started in our next session.