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Four Responsibilities of a Medical Assistant

Medical Assistants play an important role in the many various types of health care offices around the world. These esteemed professional play an important role in assisting the doctor to ensure timely, efficient, quality care for patients which gives the doctors more valuable time to spend with their patients. Our extensive medical assistant course at our medical school in Miami, Florida is specifically designed to educate our students to become qualified in their field.

Among the many important responsibilities of a qualified Medical Assistant, four very important responsibilities are handling office management duties such as booking appointments and other reception needs, maintaining records management, performing specialized medical tests including urinalysis and collecting blood specimens, and preparing patients for physical examinations and minor surgical procedures.

Reception and Maintaining Records Management

Often the medical assistant is the first face a patient sees when entering the doctor’s office. A qualified medical assistant is not only adequately trained in intake procedures but also expresses compassion when dealing with patients. Upon processing the patient’s payment whether it be a cash paying patient or a payment with insurance, the medical assistant must correctly charge the account and take record of the payment.

Additionally, they must ensure that the patient’s records are up to date with the correct address, phone number, and insurance information if applicable. They must maintain privacy laws by ensuring they securely protect the patient’s private information. Additionally, they must be able to answer the incoming phone calls from the office and handle the appointment booking.

Performing Specialized Medical Tests

Medical AssistantWhile some medical assistants run the front office of the practice and maintain patients checking in and in the waiting room, others on the team handle the duties that are done in the back of the office after the patient is checked in. Our school makes sure all medical assistant requirements are adequately addressed so that all our graduates are highly qualified in performing these important duties.

Upon calling the patient to be seen by the doctor, medical assistants are responsible for taking the patient’s vitals and recording them such as their blood pressure, temperature, weight, pulse, and oxygen levels. Additionally, these practice staff members must perform urinalysis testing and draw blood work to be delivered to the laboratory.

Patient Preparation

Patient preparation is a large part of being an efficient medical assistant. When the patient enters for a physical examination, the knowledgeable medical assistant must know how to provide them with the appropriate materials provided by the office such as office gowns and adequately direct the patient in the preparation process. For example, if the patient is going in for an x-ray they may tell them to remove all metal jewelry and provide them with blankets to cover the extremity being examined.

If the patient is going in for a minor surgery, the medical assistant may help the patient prepare by prepping the area with iodine and removing hair from the surrounding area if necessary, apply local anesthetic for numbing the area and administering any I.V. antibiotics or sedatives. Additionally, the can administer the sedatives as a shot if an I.V. is not being used.

The Doctors Best Friend

A qualified medical assistant who performs all the duties in a timely fashion ensuring accuracy and maintaining a comfortable atmosphere for the patient relieves a lot of stress of the doctor. At FVI School of Nursing and Technology our medical assistant courses are designed to cover all facets of this career and produce graduates that are well qualified to perform their job duties. Our staff is readily available to answer all of your questions and help you see if this is the career for you.

Our classes are flexible and our courses are offered in medical assistant programs in Miami. This highly respected field of work has good career growth opportunities in various medical health settings. To learn more about this exciting career, please give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you and helping you get started in the field of your dreams.

 

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Florida HHA Requirements