Medical Assisting
Medical Assisting
Health Sciences
ADVISING FOR SPRING 2010: CALL 822-3068 BEGINNING OCTOBER 12, 2009.
MEDICAL ASSISTING
About the Career
Medical assistants perform routine administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices and clinics of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and optometrists running smoothly. The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on office location, size and specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually are “generalists,” handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area under the supervision of department administrators.
Medical assistants answer telephones, greet patients, update and file patient medical records, fill out insurance forms, handle correspondence, schedule appointments, arrange for hospital admission and laboratory services, and handle billing and bookkeeping. Clinical duties vary according to State law and include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examination, performing office laboratory procedures and assisting the physician during the examination.
Medical assistants work primarily in physicians’ offices, and hospitals, including inpatient and outpatient facilities. Medical assisting is projected to be one of the fastest growing professions over the next 10 years.
Medical assistants perform a wide range of duties in physicians’ offices, clinics and emergency medical centers. Clerical duties include screening and receiving patients; maintaining medical records; typing and transcribing medical reports; handling telephone calls and correspondence; entering data; filing insurance claims; and maintaining patient accounts. Clinical duties include preparing patients for examinations; obtaining vital signs; taking medical histories; assisting with examinations and treatments; performing routine office laboratory procedures (urinalysis, phlebotomy, CBC, specimen collection and shipment); performing electrocardiograms; and instructing patients for advanced procedures.