What Does a Medical Assistant Do?

The offices of general physicians, dentists, pediatricians, ophthalmologists, and other health care practitioners would be chaotic and completely disorganized if it were not for the work of medical assistants and other administrative professionals. There are many forces that go into maintaining the efficiency of a health care professional’s practice and medical assistants tend to many of those duties.

There are several different types of medical assistants who each handle different aspects of the health care facility, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Administrative medical assistants are largely responsible for tackling the paperwork that goes through the office. They update and maintain patient medical records, coordinate the arrangements for hospital admissions and laboratory work, file and follow up on patient insurance information, act as the front desk help for patients with questions and concerns, and set up appointments. Administrative medical assistants also are responsible for billing patients as well as bookkeeping.

Clinical medical assistants, on the other hand, work inside the doctor’s office with the patient. They record vital signs like temperature and blood pressure, explain and answer questions about medical procedures, and provide general help to the practitioner during the examination or medical procedure. Smaller clinical tasks are typically delegated to medical assistants, such as collecting samples from the patient, which can include drawing blood or preparing waste specimen, removing stitches and sutures, and changing wound dressings.

Their particular day-to-day responsibilities may vary depending on the size of the practice in which they are employed. For example, a medical assistant working at a large facility such as an urban hospital may work only in a certain area of the facility, such as administrative duties. On the other hand, a medical assistant working in a small facility may be required to perform both administrative and clinical duties to make up for reduced size of staffing. Other responsibilities depend on the medical assistant’s particular work environment. For example, those working for ophthalmologists are required to be skilled in eye and vision care as they help ophthalmologists conduct diagnostic tests and test eye muscle function, whereas those working for podiatrists must know how to operate x-ray machines and create castings of feet.

The many duties that medical assistants perform allow for health care practitioners to handle more cases each day than they would otherwise be able to do. Medical assistants also take care of the routine tasks like updating medical records and recording temperature so that the practitioners can focus all of their attention to diagnosing and treating the patient.