Responsibilities In a Medical Office

The  Medical Assistant's Responsibilities

The responsibilities of medical assistants vary from state to state, facility to facility, and office to office. Medical assistants must understand that attention to detail is important, and compassion is a must! Medical assistants are dealing with people in adverse conditions, and with diverse health concerns. Nowhere is the need for empathy, caring, professionalism, and proper conduct as great as in a medical office.

The medical assistant's responsibilities will always include pulling and filing medical charts, preparing patients to be seen by the doctor, explaining upcoming medical and diagnostic procedures, taking vital signs, setting up therapeutic devices, helping during examinations, monitoring patients, maintaining equipment, answering phones, calling in prescriptions to the pharmacy, and administering medications as ordered by the doctor.

On 04/29/2008 Illy shared the following with us:
I am a CMA and have been working for just over a year, I have already gotten $2.50 more an hour in just a little over a year. CMA's are very vital to a clinic or hospital. We do it ALL. I room up to 30 patients a day by myself. When I am not rooming, I am helping the receptionist answer multiple phone lines, medical records, faxing prescriptions, filing, preparing charts for future appointments...

My list is long:

• Maintain patient’s safe passage in and out of the clinic, and ancillary services
• Greet, assess and interview patients
• File paperwork, lab slips, and insurance information into the medical charts
• Obtain past medical and surgical history, family history, social history, vital signs
• Review present medications, allergy history, chief complaint, and brief interrogation of complaint
• Act as a liaison between doctor and patient
• Explain medication, side effects, treatments, diets, diseases and disease processes
• Update medication list and current problem list
• Prepare and assist patients for examination, treatment, or procedure by medical staff
• Anticipate needs of patients, and the doctor under whom I work
• Monitoring of patient during examination, or procedure
• Maintain and update level of skill for pertinent medical assistant duties
• Maintain patient care areas
• Stocking and ordering of supplies as needed
• Charge and code supplies, medications, and procedures
• Respond to patient’s concerns in person or by telephone while simultaneously documenting the problem
• Maintains patient confidentiality
• Participate in training and skills development of new medical assistants

Controlled Substances

Wherever controlled substances are used in a medical facility, medical assistants can only administer such drugs under a physician’s direct order and supervision. Any other use is illegal and will be taken very seriously.