What Does an Admissions Clerk Do?

An admissions clerk performs clerical duties for a medical facility or school for the purpose of ensuring a smooth admissions process for patients or students. This usually involves obtaining information from a patient or student and creating a record, or adding to a record that already exists, for the individual. In many cases, a person with this title will also have the job of collecting payment information, such as insurance or self-pay details for a medical patient or tuition payment details for a student. This job may also involve answering basic questions a patient or student may have and facilitating the sharing of pertinent information between departments within a school or medical facility.

If a person with this title works in a medical facility, he often performs data entry to input information about a patient and his payment or insurance details. He may also retrieve medical records as needed. In most cases, this job also involves facilitating the sharing of information between different doctors and medical departments in a facility. The exact duties given to a person in this position generally depend on the organization that hires him, but his main duty is usually to ensure the swift and error-free processing of admissions data.

When a person works as an admissions clerk for a school, his job tasks usually include collecting the information a school needs to make an admissions decision about a student. If the admissions decision has already been made, a person with this title may instead concentrate on collecting and inputting the information the school needs to formally admit the student. The types of information a person in this field may collect include student names; contact information; and identifying details, such as tax identification numbers. If the student is a minor, an admissions clerk might also collect data about his parents or guardians. Depending on the school's policies, he may also collect records from other schools, payment information, and deposits for tuition.

In many cases, an admissions clerk also serves as a primary point of contact for a new patient or student. Often, a person with this title has contact with those seeking admission before they see a doctor or meet with school officials. He may answer questions the individual has and provide important information about the admissions process. When a person with this title works for a school, he might also schedule appointments for tours and interviews.