Ready to join the frontlines as a medical assistant? Are you passionate about helping others but don’t have 2 to 4 years to complete college? If so, then becoming a medical assistant may be the right career path for you. Physicians look to medical assistants to help the medical facility run smoothly. So, are you wondering what are the clinical responsibilities of a medical assistant?
What are the Clinical Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant?
As a medical assistant, you will be responsible for many clinical duties. You are the liaison between the patient and the physician, and it is up to you to offer a positive atmosphere and keep the patient informed every step of the way. Some of the clinical duties you will take responsibility for include:
Phone Call Triage
Many phone calls will come into the physician’s office or medical facility and who better to triage the phone calls than the medical assistant? As a medical assistant, you are the best qualified person to identify whether a situation is an emergency and/or which staff member needs to take the call. Whether the patient is just scheduling an appointment, or they are having an allergic reaction, you are fully qualified to identify emergency situations and handle them promptly.
Rooming Patients
As the medical assistant, you are usually the first person a patient talks with at their appointment. So, it is important to make a good first impression. You will greet the patient in the waiting room and walk them back to the exam room. Along the way you can identify any issue in their demeanor that should be noted on their health records. Be careful to not talk too much about their health history or chief concerns until you get to the exam room. It is important to keep a patient’s sensitive information confidential.
Adhering to HIPAA Guidelines
As a healthcare professional, you are responsible for adhering to HIPAA guidelines. This means keeping patient information private and not divulging any health information to third parties without the consent of the patient. During the medical assistant program, you will learn what the HIPAA guidelines are and how to keep sensitive information confidential. The training will include proper phone etiquette, keeping computers password protected and not leaving files laying around for others to accidently view.
Updating Health Records
Once in the exam room, you will update the patient’s health records with current medications and any health concerns they may have. It is important to make the patient feel comfortable so they tell you the pertinent information that you will need to pass on to the physician. It is important to build trust with the patient so you can properly help them with their health concerns. You will also want to ask open-ended questions to allow the patient to elaborate. This is a great tactic to allow the patient to tell you what is really going on with their health.
Taking Vital Signs
The next step in the patient visit is taking vital signs. You will take the patient’s blood pressure, temperature, heart rate and respiration rate to identify any abnormalities. It is important to take these vital signs at each visit to understand any trends and to establish a baseline. Is the patient usually running hot or do they have borderline blood pressure issues? For some, weight and height are important vital signs to record. For seniors that may have lost an inch in height, they may suffer from symptoms of osteoporosis. Also, for those that are taking medications, weight can be a factor in dosage.
Performing Diagnostic Tests
As a medical assistant, you will be responsible for diagnostic tests like EKG and Holter tests. These diagnostic tests help physicians make better diagnosis and treatment decisions. You will learn how to administer these diagnostic tests during the medical assistant program. In addition to the curriculum, you will have the opportunity to practice your diagnostic testing skills to build your confidence for day one of your new career.
Phlebotomy
An important skill that you will learn to perform is drawing blood, also known as phlebotomy. This is one of the important laboratory tests that you will learn during the medical assistant program. You will also learn how to collect specimen to process in a physician’s lab or prepare for delivery to an outside laboratory. Some medical assistants go on to become phlebotomy technicians that focus everyday on drawing blood from patients.
Assisting with Minor Procedures
One of the duties that you will perform in a physician’s office is assisting with minor procedures. From skin biopsies to removing sutures, you are an extra set of hands for the physician to manage a patient procedure. Your responsibility will be to hand them the proper supplies and instruments to the physician in the order that they will need them.
Infection Control
As a medical assistant, you are responsible for infection control within the medical facility. From cleaning the seats in the waiting room and disinfecting surfaces in the exam room to sterilizing medical instruments in between patients. Minimizing the exposure of everyone to bacteria and viruses will help keep everyone safe and healthy.
Patient Education
Part of your responsibility as a medical assistant is to educate patients about healthy habits, nutrition, proper hygiene and occasionally after procedure care. The patient looks to you as the liaison between them and the physician to properly educate them on the procedures, possible outcomes, medication administration, and the care they can perform at home after a surgical procedure. It is important to remember that you are bound by HIPAA guidelines so be careful to talk about patient information with family members and medical staff that is not directly working on the patient’s case.
What are the Clerical Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant?
In addition to clinical responsibilities, you will also be responsible for some clerical duties at a physician’s office. These clerical responsibilities include:
Appointment Scheduling
During your down time, you will support the medical office staff in setting appointments for patients. You may even manage the physician’s calendar since you are acutely aware of how long procedures take and what equipment is needed for each appointment type.
Stocking Medical Supplies
Who better to help restock medical supplies than the person that is responsible for them within the exam room? During your daily duties as a medical assistant, you will identify what medical supplies are needed and communicate with vendors to help keep medical shelves stocked for physician appointments. The middle of a patient appointment is not the time to run out of tongue depressors.
Managing Records
Another clerical responsibility that you will help with is managing records. Before and after appointments, you will be responsible for adding notes and medical information into electronic health records. Keeping medical records up to date is an important responsibility because everyone works off the same records, and an omission of information can cause a medical error or cause duplicate tested to be administered.
Supporting Billing and Coding
As a medical assistant, you will also help support the medical billing and coding specialist. You are aware of what procedures and supplies are used during appointments and can help clear up any discrepancies that a medical biller may come across.
How Can You Become a Medical Assistant?
An easy way to become a medical assistant is to attend the medical assisting program at Meridian College. We take pride in placing you with an employer were you will thrive. At Meridian College, we prepare you with the clinical and clerical skills you need to succeed starting day one of your new career. Our instructors will guide you through the curriculum and offer hands-on experience to build your confidence and knowledge base. If you are interested in helping your community with better health outcomes, then joining the frontlines of healthcare as a medical assistant may be the perfect career path for you.
Want to Learn More?
Meridian College offers hands–on Medical Assistant training from experienced school faculty who know how to prepare you for the daily challenges you’ll face on the job. From assisting doctors with patients to important administrative tasks, our experienced Medical Assistant program teachers will train you for a rewarding new career.
In addition to receiving training from school instructors with real-world experience, you will also complete a school externship in a physician’s office, clinic, or related healthcare facility under the supervision of a physician, nurse, or health services professional to further develop your skills.
Contact Meridian College today to learn more about becoming a medical assistant.