Vervoe

How To Hire A Medical Receptionist

Admin & Office

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Medical Receptionist hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

What does a Medical Receptionist do?

A Medical Receptionist works in a healthcare environment and is responsible for welcoming guests and patients, answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, and other general administrative support.

Day to day tasks of a Medical Receptionist

  • Handle personal information of patients with confidentiality at all times.
  • First point of contact for patients and visitors.
  • Liaise with doctors and other medical professionals for appointments
  • Answer telephone calls and attend to inquiries.
  • Schedule appointments of patients and ensure to keep them on time.
  • Assist patients in their inquiries and any concern in documentation.
  • Ensure accounts are properly charged and process payments from outgoing patients.
  • Coordinate with a healthcare provider partner about insurance packages.
  • Monitor stationery supplies and request order when necessary.
Recruitment guide role overview illustration

A Medical Receptionist’s primary responsibility is to serve patients by welcoming and greeting them, scheduling appointments for them, attending to any of their concerns, and maintaining their records. Because of this, they should have a good customer service orientation as they are interacting with different patients and visitors everyday.

Role definition illustration

Medical Receptionist Hiring Process

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile​

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.

Admin Office sector illustration

Skills needed for a Medical Receptionist

A Medical Receptionist must be customer-focused and compassionate. They will be dealing with several patients and visitors everyday, and since they will be the first point of contact, it is important to be engaging and professional.

  • Scheduling
  • Confidentiality
  • Communication

How to write a Medical Receptionist job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Medical Receptionist job description:

Job Title
What position are you hiring for?
Summary
What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities
An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements
Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits
Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
Use our sample Medical Receptionist job description
Job description checklist illustration

Sample skill tests for a Medical Receptionist

Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library

Question 1

Scheduling

Question Type: Text

Explain the meaning of a task priority and how you would use it in scheduling.

Question 2

Communication

Question Type: Audio

The clinic needs a new answering machine. Please record one following the script below.Hi there, your call is important to us. You have either called outside business hours or all of our receptionists are with patients. If your call is an emergency, please hang up and call (EMERGENCY NUMBER). If you would like to hold and speak with a receptionist, please dial 1. If you are calling for test results, please dial 2. If you would like to leave a message, please dial 3.

Question 3

Confidentiality

Question Type: Text

As a Medical Receptionist, you will be responsible for the "Handling of personal and sensitive information"Explain what this means to you? What kind of information? How do you act, what do you do with it, be elaborate and think in a medical setting.

How to interview a Medical Receptionist

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

How much does it cost to hire a Medical Receptionist?

The US average for a Medical Receptionist according to Glassdoor.com is $33,290. Meanwhile, Salary.com reports it at $37,184. The salary range usually falls from $28,000 - $40,000. Salaries vary depending on education, additional skills, years of experience, and the location.

United States

Medical Receptionists’ salaries in the United States range from $28,000 - $40,000. While the average falls between $33,000 - $37,000, it can still vary depending on the credentials and experience of the applicant. Some employers can also offer additional pay through bonuses, tips, and commissions.

Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Salary.com

United Kingdom

Medical Receptionists’ salaries in the United Kingdom range from £14,000 - £43,000 (GBP). While the average falls between £17,376 - £24,465, it can still vary depending on the credentials and experience of the applicant. Some employers can also offer additional pay through bonuses, tips, and commissions.

Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Payscale.com

Australia

Medical Receptionists’ salaries in Australia range from $35,000 - $68,000 (AUD). While the average falls between $48,459 - $58,990 (AUD), it can still vary depending on the credentials and experience of the applicant. Some employers can also offer additional pay through bonuses, tips, and commissions.

Source: Source: Talent.com; Payscale.com