| What is a Medical Assistant? | | | | advice. Although many Medical Assistants may |
| | | | have advanced training in certain clinical |
| Medical Assistants are unlicensed healthcare | | | | areas it is ultimately the responsibility of |
| workers who perform administrative and basic | | | | the supervising physician or other licensed |
| supervised clinical tasks to keep the offices | | | | health care provider to assure that their |
| of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, | | | | staff and Medical Assistants working in the |
| and other health practitioners running | | | | office are performing duties in compliance |
| smoothly. Many also work in outpatient | | | | with all governing laws. |
| clinics, hospitals and healthcare centers. | | | | |
| Medical Assistant careers are gathering | | | | Therefore the physicians must determine the |
| demand in the background of a healthcare | | | | skill level and capabilities of each employee |
| industry boom worldwide. | | | | they supervise and take into account |
| | | | liability risk and quality control when |
| Doctors' offices are extremely busy places. | | | | assigning them their responsibilities. |
| There are almost constantly patients to see | | | | Physicians should provide initial direct |
| or consult with on the telephone, medical | | | | supervision and periodically assess the |
| records and insurance records to update, | | | | quality of their work. In practices with |
| tests to run, appointments to schedule, | | | | nurse managers, medical assistants can |
| billing and bookkeeping responsibilities to | | | | receive additional supervision coordinated to |
| handle, and many other duties and needs. | | | | maximize workflow in a practice. |
| Doctors may hardly have time to see all of | | | | Communicating the employees’ roles to |
| their patients, let alone handle the rest of | | | | other staff and clearly delineating their |
| these tasks. This is where medical assistants | | | | responsibilities is important in maximizing |
| step in. Medical assistants are basically the | | | | the productivity of the health care team. |
| doctor's right hand. They keep the office | | | | Although legal requirements addressing the |
| running smoothly, taking care of any clerical | | | | Medical Assistant scope of practice vary by |
| and some clinical aspects so that the doctors | | | | state, the Medical Assistant generally works |
| can focus on providing direct patient care. | | | | under the license of their supervising |
| | | | physician or the managed care organization |
| Many doctors have large practices, especially | | | | that employs them. The formal education of |
| those in populous rural areas where there are | | | | medical assistants often occurs in vocational |
| fewer doctors per person, and if all | | | | schools, technical institutes, community |
| responsibilities are left to the doctor, the | | | | colleges, proprietary schools, online |
| quality of the patient care can suffer. There | | | | educational programs or junior colleges. |
| is never a typical workday as far as medical | | | | |
| assisting is concerned because it is a very | | | | According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor |
| busy and varying occupation. They may focus | | | | Statistics, there are about 800,000 doctors |
| on reception, records, and billing one day | | | | in practice in the United States, with only |
| and perform simple lab tests and change | | | | 500,000 medical assistants working for them. |
| dressings and sutures the next. They may even | | | | As such, the medical assistant field is |
| be needed to assist doctors in procedures or | | | | expected to grow substantially within the |
| by taking x-rays or administering | | | | next ten years, especially as more doctors |
| electrocardiograms. Medical assistants also | | | | become overloaded with patients. The job is |
| explain medication and procedures to | | | | challenging, but there are many rewards, not |
| patients, providing them with the knowledge | | | | in the least the chance to provide patients |
| and understanding they need to better care | | | | with the best care available. |
| for themselves. The responsibilities and | | | | |
| challenges, as well as the opportunities, are | | | | Copyright : St. Augustine School of Medical |
| endless. | | | | Assistants |
| | | | |
| Many physicians are unsure of what tasks are | | | | ( |
| appropriate to assign to a medical assistant | | | | |
| and it is important to remember medical | | | | You can reproduce this article as long as you |
| assistants are not licensed to make | | | | leave this copy right statement and links |
| independent medical assessments or give | | | | unchanged. |