Medical Assistant Jobs

Guide for Preparing a Purchase Order For Medical Assistants

2011-10-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Purchase order forms are available from office supply companies or can be ordered from a printer and
customized to the needs of the ambulatory care setting.

    · Purchase order number. A preprinted number that is used on invoices and statements from the supplier and on the check used to pay the invoice. It is also important for tracking the status of the order.

    · Bill to address. Generally used when items are to be shipped to an address different from the address where the supplier will send the bill for goods or services.

    · Ship to address. When items are to be sent by supplier; this must always be completed.

    · Vendor information. Name and address of supplier where purchase order is to be sent.

    · Req. By. States which individual or department has requested the item(s).

    · Buyer. States the individual in the office who is authorized to issue a purchase order.

    · Terms. Agreement between buyer and seller as to when payment is due.

    · QTY. Quantity of item being ordered (number of units).

    · Item. Vendor's catalogue part or item number.

    · Units. How the item is soldindividually (ea.), by the box, case, or dozen. Many suppliers will not split units (i.e., sell less than a full case).

    · Description. Brief description of item (helps as a cross-check for vendor in the event that an item number is entered incorrectly).

    · Unit Price. How much one unit (ea., box, case, dozen) costs.

    · Total. Cost of one unit multiplied by the number of units being ordered.

    · Subtotal. Sum of the "Total" column.

    · Tax. Sales tax required by the state.

    · Freight. How much the customer must pay to have the order delivered (not always applicable).

    · Bal. Due. The sum of the subtotal, tax, and freight chargesthis is how much the office will be billed.

Verifying Goods Received

Proper purchasing procedure does not stop with the completion and mailing of the purchase order. When goods are received, it is necessary to verify that the correct items and quantities were shipped by the vendor. As each item is unpacked, the item number and quantity received are checked against the office copy of the purchase order. If any discrepancies are noted between what has been received and what was ordered, they should be indicated on the office copy of the purchase order and the vendor should be contacted immediately and arrangements made to ship any missing items or provide return procedures for any incorrect or overshipped items.

Preparing the Invoice for Payment

When an invoice is received from the vendor (it may be included in the shipment or mailed later), it is necessary to confirm that charges are correct for the items ordered and the shipment received.     The invoice should be compared to the original purchase order to verify quantities, unit prices, and other charges. If there are discrepancies, contact the vendor's accounts receivable department to have the errors corrected before you send payment. Once the invoice and purchase order are reconciled, the purchase order number is noted on the invoice (if not already printed there by the vendor) and the invoice is marked as "OK to pay." The invoice is then forwarded to the accounts payable department in the office for payment.

Accepting Checks Guidelines

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Accepting Checks

When accepting checks from patients and other individuals, take a few minutes to inspect the check for this may eliminate checks returned from the bank for various reasons.

· Inspect the check for correct date, amount, and signature.

· Do not accept a third-party check (a check written to the patient from another person or company) unless it is from the insurance carrier.

· If a deposited check is returned from the bank marked "insufficient funds," adjust the check account balance accordingly. Follow office procedure for notifying the patient that the check was returned.

Lost or Stolen Checks
In the event that a check is missing and is thought to be lost or stolen, report this to your bank immediately. In some cases, you may be advised to stop payment to prevent unauthorized cashing of the check. In other situations, the bank may place a warning on the account, advising bank representatives to be especially careful about checking signatures to detect any attempt at a forged signature.

Writing and Recording Checks

Part of daily financial practices includes writing checks to pay bills (accounts payable), refunds of overpayment, and replenishment of petty cash. It is important that checks be typed or written legibly to avoid bank errors. Checks should be dated and must include the name of the payee and the amount of payment entered both in figures and in words. It is also advisable to complete the "memo" line on the check indicating what the check is for or, in some cases, an account number for reference purposes. In addition, business checking accounts need to make reference to the disbursement of the funds. Disbursement accounts are numbered accounts that break all expenditures into categories (i.e., salaries, rent, supplies) in the general ledger. At the end of the year, the accounts in this ledger will provide the figures for all tax-deductible expense. When the accountant completes the tax form for the practice, the information from the disbursement accounts is then easily transferred to the tax forms. Before preparing the actual check, complete the check stub, which is the only record of payments made from the account. The stub should include the same information entered on the check as well as the disbursement account name or number for the accountant. Remember, it is critical for tax purposes that each check stub contain disbursement information so the bookkeeper can post the information to the correct accounts in the general ledger. When the checks have been prepared, verify that the check amounts agree with the amounts written on the stubs, then subtract those amounts from the checkbook balance.

Rules for Writing Checks

Follow these few rules to assure that checks are properly written and recorded.

· Check that the numerical and written amounts agree.

· Check that everything is spelled correctly.

· Determine that the check has been signed by an individual with signature privileges.

· Follow office procedure for having the physician or office manager approve all expenditures and/or sign all outgoing checks.

· Check that it is payable to the correct payee and that the current date is used.

Reconciling a Bank Statement

Each month the bank will send a statement for the checking account (Figure 17-10). The statement will show the account balance according to the bank's records, a listing of all checks that have cleared the bank, deposits received by the bank, and any service charges deducted from the account. It is necessary to reconcile the entries in the checkbook against this statement to be sure there are no errors either in the checkbook or in the bank's records.

Purchasing Supplies and Equipment

It is important to ensure proper control over purchasing of supplies and equipment for several reasons:

1. To avoid purchase of unnecessary items

2. To avoid duplication of items purchased

3. To prevent employees from ordering items for personal use

4. To provide a system for payment of only those items properly ordered and received

In order to accomplish these things, the first rule of purchasing should be that: nothing is ordered or paid for without a purchase order or purchase order

number. A copy of the purchase order is sent to the supplier and a copy is retained by the office for verification of shipment and payment of invoice.

Accounting Terms For Medical Assistants

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Types of Accounts

Checking and savings accounts are the two primary types of accounts.

Checking Accounts

The checking account is the primary account type the medical assistant will use in the ambulatory care setting. Stated simply, a checking account allows the depositor to write checks against money placed in the account. Today, there are many variations on checking accounts; in the event that the medical assistant is responsible for establishing a new account, it is worthwhile to investigate features of different checking accounts both within the same bank and at competing banks.

Some features that may differ include:

    · Interest paid

    · Monthly fees

    · Per check fees

    · Automated teller machine (ATM) access and fees

    · Initial deposit and balance requirements

    · Fees for checks

    · Special services extended free of charge such as notary, cashier's checks, traveler's checks, balance reconciliation, and services designed expressly for small businesses.

When selecting an account, do not only choose the account with the lowest fees. Also consider convenience, the relationship possible with a given bank, number of bank locations, and other factors.

Savings Accounts

Savings accounts were initially distinguished from checking accounts because they paid interest on the money deposited. However, many checking accounts also pay interest now as well. In either case, the interest is usually minimal on accounts that give immediate access to the deposit. Some money market savings accounts pay a higher rate of interest, although they require a higher initial deposit and maintenance of a higher balance, usually around $2500. Access to the account is limited; often the depositor is permitted to write three checks a month on the account. Savings accounts are useful when money is not needed on demand or when putting monies aside for long-term goals.

Types of Checks

For the most part, the ambulatory care setting will use a standard business check. However, for special     purposes, it is useful to understand the other check types available:

    · A cashier's check is often used when a check must be guaranteed for the amount in which it is written. Because a cashier's check is the bank's own check drawn against the bank's accounts, the recipient has the assurance that the check will clear. Cashier's checks are obtained at the bank by paying the bank representative cash or sometimes a personal check for the amount of the cashier's check.

    · A certified check is the depositor's own check which the bank has "certified" with a date and signature to indicate that the check is good for the amount in which it is written.

    · Money orders are available from banks and the United States Postal Service. They are purchased with cash and are used in ways similar to cashier's checks.

    · A voucher check is a type of check with a stub attached to it which can be used to indicate invoice dates, services provided, and so on. Many payroll checks are written on voucher checks; the voucher check is also frequently used in the ambulatory care setting for accounts payable.

    ·Traveler's checks are available in most banks and are convenient and safer to use than cash when traveling. They are written in specific denominations ($10, $20, $50) and require a signature when purchased and when used.

Deposits

Deposits are usually made daily since they serve as another proof of posting and because it is unwise to leave large sums of money in the office overnight. The office should have a rubber endorsement stamp from the bank to imprint on the back of all checks before depositing. Be sure all checks are stamped before making the deposit slip. Because the endorsement transfers rights to whoever holds the check, it is important to take certain precautions. A blank endorsement consists of a signature only (whether in pen or with a stamp) and presents a danger in that, if the check is lost or stolen, someone else could endorse the check below the signature and cash it. A restrictive endorsement should be used on all checks received in the ambulatory care setting. Restrictive endorsements include the signature as well as the words "for deposit only" or "pay to the order of (include the name of bank)." This restricts the use of the check should it be lost or stolen.

Most business accounts use a deposit slip similar to the one in Figure 17-8. They are always filled out in duplicate one copy to accompany the deposit, one to     be retained for office records. As shown, these deposit slips are longer than those generally used for personal accounts and have room for more entries and more information. If your day sheet has a built-in duplicate deposit slip, it will have been completed during posting.

Computerized Systems Of bookkeeping and Office Works For Medical Assistants

2011-10-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

With increasing numbers of medical facilities turning to computers for word processing, patient records, and bookkeeping, there is an ever-increasing number of medical practice software packages on the market. These ready-made systems are available for both single or dual physician offices and large group practices. Often, a consultant is hired to design a customized program, though this is far more expensive than purchasing mass-produced software. When selecting and using any computer bookkeeping software:

· Be sure the system will meet not only current needs but future needs as well (some packages can be expanded to grow with the practice)
· The hardware (computer system) must be powerful enough to run the program.

· To use the automated system, it is necessary to understand the workings of the manual procedures on which the computerized accounting is based.

Computerized Patient Accounts
A software management program offers many advantages in managing patient accounts. The program automatically creates a charge slip at the time of each patient's visit and calculates the charges after the physician's examination (Figure 17-6). The management program also creates and updates the ledger card, adds new names to the list of patients and to the daily log, and transfers data to produce insurance forms, statements, a list of checks received each day, and deposit slips. In addition, the program automatically ages accounts at each billing cycle and creates billing statements. As a result, when patient accounts are computerized, practice collections usually increase.

Computerized Patient Ledger
The computerized patient ledger contains personal information about each patient, including the name, address, and telephone number, the person responsible for payment, and all insurance carriers. The ledger also lists all previous office visits and the procedures, procedure codes, charges, payments, and adjustments for each visit. Most account management software can be customized to meet the special needs of the individual ambulatory care setting.

As information is entered from the charge slips, the computer automatically updates the ledger by adding a description of each procedure and procedure code and each diagnosis and diagnosis code (see Chapter 18 for coding information). It automatically posts the charges and calculates the balance after credits and adjustments are entered.

The ledger may be viewed on the computer screen or printed out at any time. If a patient calls with a question regarding an account, the medical assistant can call up the ledger on the screen by entering the patient's name. When a correction is needed, it can be made on the screen and stored (Figure 17-7).

As useful and efficient as a computerized bookkeeping system can be, it is important to recognize that an inadequate manual system will not get better once computerized. Also, it takes far more time than predicted to move to a computerized system, train personnel, and enter patient data. A manual and computer system may need to run concurrently for several months.

Banking Procedures
Understanding banking accounts and services, making deposits, writing checks, and reconciling accounts are all a part of daily financial practices. While many banking services are similar from one bank to another, it is a good idea for the medical assistant in charge of maintaining daily accounts to investigate the banking resources of the local community. In an effort to secure new business, many banks compete for customers by offering special services that can be of utility to the ambulatory care setting.

Ledger Cards For Medical Assistants

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It is, of course, necessary to maintain a record of services provided and charges and payments for each individual seen in the office or hospital. This is accomplished by creating a separate ledger for each patient household. In order to easily keep track of patient accounts there should be a responsible party for each family whose name and address will appear in the mailing window at the top of the ledger card (Figure 17- 3). Services or payments for any other members of the family seen in the office or hospital will be entered on the same ledger and the patient's first name (or coded number) will be written in the space provided (reference space columns). If the office is doing insurance billing or receiving insurance payments, it is extremely important that charges and credits be applied to the correct family member so never omit this step when making entries.

The columns on the front of the ledger card will show the date of activity, name of patient, a clear description of type of activity, amount of charge or credit, adjustments (if any), and the family's total balance due.

The back of the ledger card in Figure 17-3 includes all pertinent patient and insurance information needed for collection purposes.

The ledger is placed under the charge slip or receipt, directly on the day sheet, and aligned prior to posting. Never post any patient entry without the patient's ledger in place. This prevents recording information on the day sheet and thus omitting it inadvertently from the patient's ledger.

Charge Slips and Receipts

The charge slip (or superbill) shown in Figures 17-1 and 17-4 is a three-part form that:

1. Provides patients with a record of account activity for the day

2. May eliminate the need for separate insurance forms

3. Provides the office with a copy of that day's services, which will be filed in the individual's chart

Charge slips can be ordered to fit the practice. Information on the charge slip includes not only the amount of the day's transaction, but procedure codes and diagnosis codes that satisfy the requirements for most insurance companies to reimburse the patient or physician. When the slips are ordered, the office will indicate the most common services provided, which will be printed on the form with the applicable procedure codes (and some blank lines for infrequently used procedures). After seeing the patient, the physician places a check mark beside the services rendered. In addition, there is an area for the diagnosis code to be filled in by the physician at the same time. The charge slip is printed with the name, address, and telephone number of the practice.

Unlike charge slips, the receipt forms (Figures 17-1 and 17-5) used for payments on account are not customized other than to have the name, address, and telephone number of the practice preprinted. The receipt form is only used when someone makes a payment on account and no services are rendered that day. There is only one copy of this form, which is given to the patient after the payment is recorded. Like many charge slips, the receipt form may include a space to write in the date of the patient's next appointment. It is not necessary to keep any other record of the transaction, since it is entered on the day sheet and ledger card at the time the receipt is filled out using the write-it-once procedures.

Day Sheets For Medical Assistants

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The day sheet is used to list or post each day's charges, payments, credits, and adjustments: the daily financial transactions. This is an important part of the overall bookkeeping process, so legibility and absolute accuracy are critical. At the close of each business day, the day sheet will be balanced to provide a complete picture of all patient financial activity for that day. Those balances carried over from day to day will provide the accumulated data needed for month-end closing.

The day sheet consists of five sections (Figure 17-2), the first three of which are used when posting transactions and the last two of which are for balancing, proof of posting, accounts receivable control, and accounts receivable proof.

· Section 1 is where individual transactions are posted, using the ledger card and charge slips, or receipt forms. The information here includes the date, patient name, description of transaction or service, charges, credits, and previous and current balances. This is the write-it-once portion of the day sheet.

· Section 2 is the deposit portion (some companies make this part detachable to be used as an actual deposit slip). If a transaction includes a payment, the payment amount will be listed under the appropriate right-hand column showing method of payment after the ledger portion is posted.

* Section 3 is for business analysis. These columns might be used for recording payments or charges to be credited to different physicians or they are often used as a breakdown for types of service (i.e., office examination, hospital visit, surgery, and so on). The use of this area will vary from practice to practice.

· Section 4 is where transactions are totaled and balanced at the end of the day.

· Section 5 is used to verify the daily balances and to balance and track cumulative accounts receivable figures. The total accounts receivable figure shows how much is owed to the practice by all patients to date, allowing the physician or administrator to see the total outstanding balance at a glance without having to add hundreds of individual balances.

Good Working Habits For managing the day-to-day finances

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In managing the day-to-day finances of the ambulatory care setting always observe two guidelines:

1. Always work with care and accuracy; it is extremely easy to transpose numbers (i.e., writing 23 instead of 32) or make other posting errors. A moment of carelessness can result in hours spent trying to find the mistake.

2. The work must be kept current or it may become an overwhelming chore.

Also, develop these habits:

· Form your numerals and letters carefully with good penmanship.

· Use a consistent ink color.

· Align your columns.

· Be careful when carrying decimal points.

· Double-check your math.

· If a mistake is found, neatly cross out the incorrect figure and write the correct figure above it.

The Pegboard System

A complete pegboard or write-it-once system consists of day sheets, ledger cards, charge slips, and receipt forms. The forms are designed to work together to simplify the task and to avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes in patient accounts. All forms will have matching columns that align and are held in place on the pegboard when the system is in use (Figure 17-1). The forms are generally carboned or on NCR© paper (no carbon required) which permits entering of charges, credits or adjustments, or posting, onto the day sheet, charge slip, or receipt and the patient's ledger card simultaneously. Some major advantages of the pegboard system include:

* The system is efficient and time saving by only having to enter information once, it is impossible to enter incorrect information on one of the forms due to copying errors or errors of omission. (This can also be a major disadvantage when an error made and entered appears on all forms.)
* The day sheet provides complete and up-to-date information about accounts receivable status at a glance.
* A pegboard system is relatively inexpensive.

Several companies produce pegboard systems, all with slight variations. Though the information and method of use are the same, it is not usually possible to "mix and match" forms from different companies since even a slight difference in column width or location will make the forms incompatible.

Determining Patient Fees

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In today's managed care climate, ambulatory care settings have many different arrangements with insurance carriers and with their patients. Often, the office or urgent care center will have a contract with HMO-type insurance carriers in which they agree to a specific fee for certain procedures. In this instance, the physicians of the center are usually known as participating providers. In some plans, the patient pays what is known as a copay amount for each visit. In other situations, the patient is liable for a certain percentage of the fee. This is usually known as coinsurance. Ambulatory care centers may also accept Medicare and Medicaid patients, usually for a predetermined fee.

The situations for payment are numerous and varied, and in this unit will examine them in greater detail. Of critical importance at the onset of the patient relationship, however, is that both patient and physician have an understanding of their fiscal responsibility to each other. The patient must also be made aware of any fees imposed for missed appointments, telephone consultation, and other charges the patient may not anticipate. It is not unethical to charge for these, but it is not recommended without prior notification to the patient.

Usual, Reasonable, and Customary Fees
A fee schedule often used by Medicare and some insurance carriers is referred to as usual, reasonable, and customary fees. Usual refers to the fee typically charged by a physician for certain procedures; reasonable refers to the midrange of fees charged for this procedure; and customary is based on the average charge for a specific procedure by all physicians practicing the same specialty in a defined geographic region.

Discussion of Fees
The manner in which billing and a discussion of fees is addressed will vary depending on the type of medical facility, the needs of the practice, and the professional services rendered. Years ago, personnel     in medical facilities would typically ask patients at the end of their visits if they would like to pay then or be billed later. It is now customary and in some offices mandatory to request payment at the time of service. Today, the fee for the visit is simply stated, and if a person does not have cash or a check, the option of credit card payment is often provided. If a patient is a member of an HMO, and the ambulatory care setting is a member of that HMO, then the patient is typically responsible only for any established copay amount.

Inherent to the total billing process is the necessity of initially establishing a fee schedule and informing patients of charges and exactly what portion of the bill they are expected to pay. Ideally, the patient should be told the approximate cost of the procedures at the start of treatment. Charges for some daily routine visits may be submitted to the insurance carrier, and the office may not know what portion is covered until information is received from the carrier. The facility may accept numerous insurance plans and participation in these plans determines the amount that the patient owes. Many misunderstandings will be prevented and subsequent collection of delinquent accounts expedited when the office staff is well informed about insurance reimbursement and carefully explains fees to the patients.

Adjustment of Fees
If another physician or health professional is provided a service through the office, professional courtesy may be extended. This may mean providing a service free of charge, or at a discount of 2 to 50 percent, as determined by office policy, when treating a physician or an allied health professional. If the physician or other professional has health insurance, the office may choose to use it to cover the service. In certain cases, the physician in charge of the office may prefer to extend total professional courtesy. However, in today's health care climate, it is rare for an office to totally refuse to accept insurance payments. Discounts, less commonly, may also be extended to clergy, pharmacists, and dentists.

Other adjustments may be made for patients with limited income. For example, if a patient had been going to the ambulatory care center for many years, but recently lost a job or ran into unfortunate financial circumstances, the physician may ''write off," a portion of the bill. This sum will be written off against the physician's income, and the patient will not have to pay any amount or will pay a reduced amount according to what is affordable. This courtesy usually applies to only existing patients and is not offered to new patients.

Adjustments also may occur with Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Shield, and private health insurance patients. Physicians who accept assignment in these programs agree to accept what the insurer allows. For instance, a fee of $150 may be charged, but $95 is accepted as payment in full by the provider. The remainder of the bill, $55, is written off so that the patient is not responsible for this remainder of the fee.

Medical assistants must be aware, however, of the pitfalls of adjusting or reducing fees. It is difficult to accept all hardship cases and still remain a viable practice. It is always a helpful resource to patients who cannot pay to be given the names and telephone numbers of local health care clinics that may be able to accept them as patients on a sliding scale or no-fee basis.

Credit Arrangements
If the patient will need to pay a substantial out-of-pocket amount, it is helpful to make the patient aware of this and discuss different credit arrangements that can be made. Many ambulatory care settings will work out installment payments, usually without finance charges, to spread the cost of services over a pre-agreed period of time. This eases the financial burden on the patient and also makes it more likely that the office will be able to collect monies due.

Medical Assistant Career

2010-09-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Medical assistant career usually consist of performing scheduled accounting and clinical tasks to sustain effectiveness in medical offices and as we can see that medical assistants demand is increasing day by day! One must keep in mind that they are not like physician assistants because a physician assistant’s job involves examination and treatment of patients by the instructions given by a physician. The factors that concern the job of medical assistants are position and amount of the practice and also the physician's area of expertise.

Note that when medical practices are not too large, MAs are called personals with medical and administrative duties. They have to report directly to the physician or office manager at the health care center. Whereas MAs, who are in large practice area generally focus on a definite area and are directly supervised by the division supervisor. Some jobs in medical assistant career consist of; welcoming the patients, keep up the medical records of health centre, filling different forms, organizing appointments between physician and patient and carry out major laboratory services.

The laws in United States of America cause the medical assistants to carry out different medical duties. The medical assistant career includes getting back of patient’s medical history, watching for vital signs and informing them on the subject of healing, assisting the physician in examination of patients and carrying out general laboratory tests and taking care of medical equipments. The common task of all MAs is that they educate a patient about his medical treatments like medicinal prescriptions and eating routine, preparing and giving medicines, propose medicine list to the pharmacy, take the patient for x-ray testing and for changing the dress.

Expert medical assistant career includes more responsibilities. For instance, podiatric medical assistants' job include: surgical procedure assistance, x ray procedure and development of machinery. Ophthalmic MAs help ophthalmologists in providing care procedure for eyes. Their duties include eye testing to analyze, calculate and manuscript different functions of eyes. They help out patients with their contact lenses to ensure appropriate placing, exclusion of lenses. And by the help of doctors, the expert medical assistants moreover give medication for their eyes. Additional duty of MAs are helping the surgeon in surgical measures, guarantee preservation of optical supplies and to manage the dressing of eyes.

Also note that medical assistants execute accommodating errands in group medic practice, in clinic or hospitals, in medical insurance company and equipment firms. The MAs can also be portrayed as word technicians who transcribe and check over medical letter and reports connected with patient's inspection and lab dealings. All in all we can say that to have a good Medical assistant career you must have power over high extent of speaking, listening and editing abilities.

Writing Tips For Medical Assistants

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Rosemary Fruehling, a writer and lecturer, states "Business writing is good when it achieves the purpose the author intended. The first paragraph of a letter should hold the reader's attention and elicit a response if required." If the reader has to wander through several paragraphs to discover what the writer wants, the letter is of little value to the sender.Medical assistants will vary in their writing abilities. However, a clear purpose, continued practice, and an understanding of writing fundamentals will enable all medical assistants to write clearly and accurately.
1. Identify Topics
Before beginning, organize your thoughts by:
a) writing down key points on index cards
b) organizing cards in a logical sequence.

2. Use Clear and Concise Language
a) Respect the reader and use language the audience will understand.
b) Be courteous.
c) State the reason for the letter in the first paragraph.
d) Use positive words and phrases; avoid negative words when possible.
e) Choose unambiguous words and phrases; do not confuse the reader.

3. Establish Tone of Voice
Be personable and cordial in tone; some letters may be formal, others informal. However, professional correspondence should never be overly familiar.

4. Follow Office Style
a) Review previous correspondence or an in-office style manual to identify correct format and style.
b) Use the same format for all office correspondence.

5. Encourage Response
Write the closing paragraph to encourage action.

6) Spelling
Be certain all the written communications have no misspelled or incorrectly used words. Make a list of words that you often misspell and alphabetize them in a notebook. Several computer word processing software packages contain English/Medical spell check features. A new word that is not currently identified in the Spell Check or Medical Check package may be added to the program. When you check a spelling in the dictionary, develop the habit of reading the definition as well. This will help you imprint the correct spelling and meaning of the word.

7) Confusing and Misused Words
Be certain that the word is used correctly. For example, "there" or "their" are both spelled correctly; however, be certain to use the word with the correct meaning. If in doubt, check a dictionary to differentiate between similar sounding words. Do not use the word unless certain of correct usage.

8) Proofreading
Prior to mailing any correspondence, check the letter for errors such as misspelled words, missing words, and inverted characters. Some tips to remember are:
1. Do not proofread when tired.
2. Prepare the document, set it aside, proofread it later.
3. Read in several short time frames if the document is long.
4. Avoid proofreading on the computer screen. Print a hard copy to proof.
5. Read sentence backwards to check for spelling. (Caution, the word may be correct; however, the usage may be incorrect.)
6. If proofing a long document, read it to another person and have this person check sentence structure.
7. Use a card or ruler to hold under the line you are reading to maintain your place in the document.
Proofreading marks most commonly used are shown in Figure 16-1. There are many additional proofing marks.

Written Communication For Administrative Medical Assistant

2010-08-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

One of the key responsibilities of the administrative medical assistant is written communication. All written material produced by the ambulatory care setting is critical, for it reflects positively or negatively on the professionalism of the office. Letters to patients, to referring physicians, to other health care organizations, and even interoffice correspondence should be thoughtfully composed, carefully produced according to the style selected by the office manager, and mailed and delivered in a way that is both time- and cost-efficient.

When they are produced with care, written communications can be a time-consuming part of the administrative medical assistant's day. This is why Marilyn Johnson, CMA, the office manager at Doctors Lewis & King, has compiled a style manual for the two-physician practice. Marilyn is clearly aware that professional looking and sounding letters send a message to all recipients. Yet, she wants to make correspondence writing and producing as efficient as possible, and her style manual provides an easy-to-use resource for anyone in the office responsible for composing or sending written documents.

In her style manual, Marilyn has included examples of the ''house" letter format, which is a block style; a list of commonly used medical terms for easy spelling reference; answers to common questions staff have in regard to word usage; proofreader's marks; proper addressing procedures for envelopes and packages, depending on whether they are being sent by United States mail or by an alternative delivery method; and a quick list of the best ways to send various types of correspondence. Marilyn has also included a list of "Do Nots" in order to help her staff avoid mistakes in their written communications.

While written correspondence is important in conveying a professional image of the ambulatory care setting, it must be remembered that written documents also provide a permanent or legal record in the event of any litigation and thus must be carefully and accurately worded. In most ambulatory care settings, medical assistants will be responsible both for composing documents and for medical transcription. In either event, conscientious medical assistants will always remember that the quality of the correspondence is reflective of the standards of the medical office.

Computer Application in Management Of Records And Databases

2010-06-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Computer Applications
While the majority of patient charts are still maintained manually, computers are playing an ever-increasing role in the management of records in the ambulatory care setting. Even offices that do not do a great deal of medical records management by computer find the basic database application of great assistance.

Databases
Databases are exceedingly useful in a number of ways. A database is a tool for storing information in a form that allows easy retrieval of information related to a specific topic or element. Maintaining a list of patients with telephone numbers, addresses, family members, and insurance policies is perhaps the simplest use of a database. However, from this can spring a wealth of other information with which the medical office can form other databases; e.g., to retrieve information about patients in a particular locality, patients who are on a particular drug in the event of a drug recall, and general mailing lists for address labels which can be sorted by zip code, state, city, or patient name.
Any number of software programs are available to create databases. The steps involved are simple:
1. Design a form by designing the items of interest (called fields) such as patient name, address, date of birth, and sex.
2. Enter the data into each of these fields.
3. Name the database and save the file on the computer for future use.

Simple databases do not require an extensive knowledge of computers to be utilized effectively for routine office applications.

Biomedical, Clinical, and Other Databases
Because technology is changing so rapidly, physicians must stay up to date on medical and health developments. A biomedical database, essentially a library of health information that can be accessed by a personal computer and modem, allows a physician to search available literature for a topic or combination of topics. Medical assistants may be assigned the task of researching available databases before the physician subscribes to a particular database service or to search for specific pieces of information the physician requires. If so, look for a database that gives information from around the world. A good biomedical database should index at least 4,000 journals, including foreign journals. Clinical databases are another aid in researching questions about drugs or chemicals. These databases index drugs and their interactions, poisons and their antidotes, emergency illnesses and their treatments, as well as scores of other clinically related topics. An ambulatory care setting seeking a service of this type should contact the local medical association, the American Medical Association, or a major vendor of medical software for names and addresses of the most widely used clinical database services. Poisindexä, Drugdexä Emergindexä, and Identidexä are typical information services. Each is offered by Micromex, Inc., in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center and the University of Colorado.

Hospitals routinely use databases such as MedLine, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), GENONE (genetic information),and Micromedics. Users access these databases through networks such as Prodigy, CompuServe, Dialog, and Internet. Nonmedical databases such as Nexus, which might occasionally be used in large medical offices, provide information on just about every imaginable subject, from travel schedules to financial information, art history, and physics. Electronic databases work in the same way as magazine subscription services. A subscriber selects a particular database service, then pays a monthly fee. In addition, the subscriber pays long-distance telephone charges for the amount of time on-line each month with the database service.

Archival Storage
Most physicians preserve patient medical records for at least the life of their practice. This obviously is a space-consuming prospect, particularly in today's large practices. Computers are helping to solve this dilemma through a process similar to microfiche and microfilm. Records can be copied with a laser beam onto what are called optical disks. This method not only eliminates the bulky storage problems encountered with traditional records but records can be retrieved and viewed almost instantaneously on a computer screen.

Professional Rights and Responsibilities

2010-05-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Physicians may choose whom to serve, but may not refuse a patient on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or any other illegal discrimination. It is unethical for physicians to deny treatment to HIV-infected individuals on that basis alone if they are qualified to treat the patient's condition. Once a physician takes a case, the patient cannot be neglected nor refused treatment unless official notice is given from the physician to withdraw from the case. Patients have the right to know their diagnoses, the nature and purpose of their treatment, and to have enough information to be able to make an informed choice about their treatment protocol. Physicians should inform families of a patient's death and not delegate that responsibility to others. Physicians should expose incompetent, corrupt, dishonest, and unethical conduct by other physicians to the disciplinary board. It is unethical for any physician to treat patients while under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or any other chemical that impairs the physician's ability.

Physicians who know they are HIV positive should refrain from any activity that would risk the transmission of the virus to others. Any activity that might be regarded as a "conflict of interest" (for example, a physician holding stock in a pharmaceutical company and prescribing medications only from that company) should be avoided. Financial interests are not to influence physicians in prescribing medications, devices, or appliances.

It is the responsibility of physicians and their employees to report all cases of suspected child abuse, to protect and care for the abused, and to treat the abuser (if known) as a victim also. This is not an easy task. Abuse is not easy to witness. While there are very specific laws regarding suspected child abuse, and in most states medical assistants are mandated to report abuse, the laws are vague or nonexistent in elderly and spousal abuse. However, whatever form the abuse takes, it is best to treat all forms of abuse in the same manner by providing a safe environment for those abused and seeking treatment for the abuser and the abused.

Bioethical Dilemmas
Guidelines for bioethical issues are even harder to define than are guidelines for ethics, because each of the bioethical issues calls upon us to make decisions that directly affect a person's life. In some instances, the bioethical issue requires a choice about who lives and requires a definition of the quality of life. Such dilemmas are difficult, if not impossible, to approach from a neutral point of view even though medical assistants should strive not to place their moral values upon patients or coworkers.

Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources
The issue faced daily by health care workers is the allocation of scarce medical resources. Even with the government's attempts at health care reform, medical resources still will not be available to everyone. When the receptionist determines who receives the only available appointment in a day, when patients are turned away because they have no insurance or financial resources to pay for services, when Medicare/Medicaid patients are denied services because of low return from state and federal insurance programs, scarce medical resources are being allocated.

Torts And Medical Assistants

2010-05-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

A tort is a wrongful act that results in injury to one person by another. Medical assistants may commit a tort that may result in litigation. If it can be proven that the injury resulted from the medical assistant (or other health care professional) not meeting the standard of care governing their respective professions, then litigation is a possibility. If, however, the medical assistant (or other health care professional) commits a wrongful act but the patient suffers no injury or harm, then no tort exists. If, for example, the medical assistant changes a wound dressing, breaks sterile technique, and the patient suffers a severely infected wound, the medical assistant has committed a tort and can be held liable, and legal action can be taken. On the other hand, if the medical assistant changes a wound dressing, breaks sterile technique, and the patient's wound does not become infected, no harm has been suffered, and a tort does not exist. If a medical assistant fails to report to the physician a negative result on a blood test that causes the physician to fail to make an early diagnosis of a disease, the assistant's omission of an act has caused a breach in the standard of care.

There are two major classifications of torts, intentional and negligent. Intentional torts are deliberate acts of violation of another's rights. Negligent torts are not deliberate and are the result of omission and commission of an act. Malpractice is the unintentional tort of professional negligence; that is, a professional either failed to act in a reasonable and prudent manner and caused harm to the patient or did what a reasonable and prudent person would not have done and caused harm to a patient.

There are two Latin terms that can be used to describe aspects of negligence. These are known as doctrines. Res ipsa loquitur, or "the thing speaks for itself," is the term used in cases that involve situations such as a nick made in the bladder when the surgeon is performing a hysterectomy. The negligence is obvious. The other doctrine, respondeat superior, "let the master answer," expresses that physicians are responsible for their employees' actions. If a medical assistant violates the standard of care, therein lies the basis for a suit of medical malpractice. For example, the medical assistant used the incorrect solution to clean the patient's wound and the patient sustained injuries to the wound. The physician-employer can be sued under the doctrine of respondeat superior because the physician-employer is responsible for the acts of employees committed in the scope of their employment. The medical assistant also can be sued because individuals are responsible for their own actions.

Value of the Computer to Medical Office

2010-05-01T01:45:00.000-07:00

Today's ambulatory care setting is typically a fast-paced environment where medical assistants must complete a variety of administrative and clinical tasks thoroughly and conscientiously. The myriad paperwork that goes hand-in-hand with patient care is a critical if time-consuming responsibility; the use of computers and computerized systems can reduce the time involved in many routine office procedures and, when used properly, will streamline repetitive tasks, giving the medical assistant more opportunity for creative problem solving and office management.
Once medical assistants become familiar with computer operations and software applications, they will find more and more uses for the computer in the ambulatory care setting. Below we describe some potential functions of the computer.
    While the computerization of an ambulatory care setting may seem like a daunting process, the task is made more manageable if problems are anticipated beforehand. While computerization can simplify cumbersome tasks, and ultimately lead to greater productivity, initially staff members may experience some frustration until they become proficient in the use and language of computers.

Scheduling
Appointment scheduling
Follow-up scheduling
Patient recall lists
Patient reminders

Word processing
Articles
Consultation reports
Correspondence
Labels and addressing
Medical transcription
Memos
Thank you letters
Welcome-to-practice letters

Clinical
Access to national data banks
CME (continuing medical education) programs
Drug interaction and allergy checks
Medical records
Patient education brochures
Prescription writing
Protocols, diagnosis, and treatment
Research
Retrieving medical research from on-line sites
Treatment plans

Accounting
Accounts payable
Cash report
Cash register
Charge slips
Check writing
Cross-posting in multiphysician practices
Daily log
Deposit slip
General ledger
Income and expense statement
Monthly statements to patients
Payroll
Profit and loss statements
Retirement plan accounting
W-2 forms

Billing, collecting, and insurance
Accounts receivable
Aging accounts receivable
Billing forms
Collection letters
Electronic transmission of claims
Insurance claim processing
Patient billing

Practice management
Employee vacation and sick-time records
Hospital lists and charges
Inventories and drug supplies
Ordering drugs and supplies
Patient profiles by age, diagnosis, and so on
Practice profiles by diagnosis, procedure, service
Production reports by physicians
Referrals

Uses Of Computer For Medical Assistants

2010-04-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

When computerizing a medical office, it is important to know what to expect, to understand the uses and limits of computers, and to organize the transition thoroughly, with proper attention to these details:

1. Know what the office needs in a computer system. To be useful, a computer system must serve the needs of the facility. Make a list of why you want the computer: it might include word processing, insurance claim filing, and managing a database. You also might want on-line and E-mail capabilities.

2. Network by talking to other people in the medical industry. It is advisable to ask questions of other ambulatory care centers that have been through the manual-to-computerization process. Ask them what computer hardware they prefer, what software applications they advise for different functions, and what problems they encountered during their transition.

3. Work with a trusted, knowledgeable vendor. It is important to establish a relationship with a computer vendor who understands not only computers but the needs of a medical office. Reliable vendors should be able to advise you of the best system and software and help you anticipate and allow for future needs as the medical practice grows.

4. Involve all staff members. If staff members are not familiar with the use of computers, they may feel threatened and, initially, think that using a computer is more time-consuming than doing a task manually. The transition takes time and training. Organize staff training sessions, either on- or offsite, so that all employees are familiar with the basics of computer operation.

5. Install the operation during a down period. The installation of a computer network can be very disruptive to patients and the office environment. If possible, schedule the installation during a down period, such as over a long holiday when the office is closed, or at least after office hours.

6. Allow adequate time for start-up. Initially, much data from existing records will have to be entered. This is an onerous and time-consuming task, but one that must be done with great accuracy. Do not expect the computer system to be 100 percent operational immediately. Allow time for medical records and other data to be entered and for staff to build confidence in their computer skills.

Office Design And Environment For Medical Assistant

2010-04-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

Office Design and Environment:
Even when the office or clinic is housed in an older building not originally constructed as a medical facility, there is much that can be done to create an environment that enhances patient comfort. Remember to see things from the patient's point of view. If the facility is a labyrinth of corridors where patients can easily get turned around, make certain that directions are clear. Be sure that examination rooms are not made more frightening by an assortment of exposed medical equipment and strange-looking dials, hoses, and nozzles. Be alert to odors that are often distasteful to patients even if the odors are from necessary antiseptics.

A reception window or desk should not make the patient feel closed off from the receptionist; it should provide privacy for the receptionist while allowing a full view of the reception area. A poorly illuminated room may suggest that the physician is trying to hide somethingpoor housekeeping, dust-encrusted baseboards, soiled carpets, or faded draperies. Lighting can be soft and inviting while providing proper illumination.
Some rooms in the facility, by their very nature, cause patients to feel intimidated. Consider the patient who is naked on an examination table except for a paper or cloth gown interacting with the physician who is fully clothed and wearing a white lab coat and comfortably seated at a counter desk. Consider also the patient who is about to have a sigmoidoscopy and must be placed on a special examination table tilted into the knee-chest position. Both these situations place the patient at an unequal level with the physician for discussion and negotiation. The goal in medical care should be to empower the patient with as much control as possible.

Privacy is always important to patients. Provide space for them to hang their clothes and undergarments out of view. A mirror is especially helpful when dressing. Always ask if a patient needs help in disrobing, and always knock before entering a room. Remember, too, that privacy implies that the patient's conversation cannot be overheard in any other part of the facility. Color can do much to establish an inviting environment. Greens and blues are good in areas that require quiet and extended concentration. Cool colors cause individuals to underestimate time and make heavier items seem lighter, objects smaller, and rooms larger. Warm colors with high illumination cause increased alertness and an outward orientation.

The aged will have difficulty distinguishing pastels because of failing eyesight. Strongly contrasting patterns and extremely bright colors can be overwhelming, and even intimidating or threatening in their effect. Accessories and artwork can easily add a special touch to a facility. While fresh flowers might be a nice touch, fresh flowers harbor microorganisms, and some patients may be allergic to them. There is the tendency to use living plants in the medical facility, but some silk plants and flowers look realistic. It would be worth the investment to have a professional designer look through the facility to make suggestions regarding color, artwork, and the general environment of the office.

Facility Environment And Reception Area

2010-04-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

The environment of the medical office or clinic contributes almost as much to a patient's well-being as does the medical attention given by the physician and medical assistants. The physical environment can foster a feeling that embraces and welcomes patients or causes them to feel alienated and intimidated. Interior designers and experts in space planning are advising all individuals involved in designing clinics, medical offices, and hospitals that patient comfort must be considered as important as the facility's functional utility and ease of maintenance. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also must be taken into account when creating any medical office environment, and provisions must be made to accommodate patients who are physically challenged. The creation of a health care facility involves many variables. Some are concrete elements, such as lighting, color choice, and furniture arrangement. Yet others are intangible and are expressed in a receptionist's greeting and attitude toward patients. Together, these elements make an ambulatory setting the kind of environment where patients will feel comfortable and secure.

The Reception Area:
A reception area is just thata place of reception; it should never be thought of as the waiting room. This is the area that can make the patient feel welcome, secure, and comfortable. Adequate and comfortable seating affords patients room to have their own space. Proper seating placement also respects cultural biases. For example, some Americans do not like to be touched by strangers. Middle Eastern and Latin cultures, by contrast, encourage closeness and touching, and individuals from these cultures may cluster themselves close together in the reception area. Current magazines that are appropriate to the clinic clientele, plants, and other features such as a professionally maintained built-in aquarium will help set a welcoming tone. The fabric and texture of draperies, upholstery, and carpet should be pleasing, comfortable, and easy to maintain. It is helpful if there is a place for patients to hang heavy coats or wet umbrellas. Many physicians provide educational materials for patients in the reception area. For example, new parents always appreciate pamphlets related to raising children. It is also appropriate to have available in the reception area a patient information brochure that describes the services of the office, the function of medical staff members, measures to take in case of an emergency, and other issues that patients may need to consider.

Computer Use in the Ambulatory Care Setting

2010-04-21T01:37:00.000-07:00

In a little more than a decade, computers have revolutionized the world of health care. They have assisted in performing sensitive surgeries, diagnosing illnesses, and developing patient treatment strategies. In addition to these dramatic clinical applications, computers have changed the nature of the ambulatory care setting from an administrative point of view, streamlining critical tasks such as patient data collection, correspondence, reports, and insurance claim filing. Yet, by itself, the computer cannot make a medical practice function more smoothly. Talented medical assistants, who understand the uses and potential of the personal computer, are the key behind an effective computerized office.
Inner City Health Care, an urgent care center in a large urban area, recently made the transition from a manual to a computerized system. It was a change long overdue, and it required a great deal of fact-finding and research before office manager Walter Seals could convince the center's physicians to purchase a network of computers for the five-physician center. Once he persuaded his employers of the computer's potential value to the center, Walter, an administrative medical assistant, proceeded very carefully. He spoke with other ambulatory care settings that were already computerized, in order to establish benchmarks, or comparisons. He selected a computer vendor who was familiar with the software needs of a medical office. He made sure all staff would receive training in the use of the computer. Finally, he selected a two-week period when the office was routinely closed for summer vacation to have the computer system installed and operational. Most ambulatory care centers either are or soon will be operating under a computerized system. The medical assistant who is familiar with the many applications of the computer and comfortable in its use is a great asset to any ambulatory care setting.

Americans with Disabilities Act And The Receptionist's Role

2010-04-19T01:34:00.000-07:00

Accessibility, or making facilities and equipment available to all users, is a major consideration when creating the health care environment. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1990. The purpose of this act is to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate to end discrimination against individuals with disabilities and to bring them into the economic and social mainstream of life. In addition to accessibility regulations, this act also provides employment protection for persons with disabilities. ADA applies to businesses with fifteen or more employees; however, some states may have stricter legislation. Even before ADA became legislation, most health care facilities attempted to make their premises barrier-free and accessible to patients with special needs. While many ambulatory care settings will have less than fifteen employees, accessibility for all patients in all settings is very important.

A professional designer can provide advice on how the facility must be accessible to persons who are physically challenged. For example, all doors and hallways must accommodate a wheelchair. There must be a bathroom facility available for handicapped individuals. Signage in Braille accommodates patients with visual disabilities. Elevators must be provided if the facility is on more than one level. Be alert also, to patients whose impairment is not obviousindividuals with impaired hearing or vision and individuals whose infirmity (temporary or permanent) may prevent them from doing certain physical activities.

The receptionist is the person on the health care team who must always keep a positive ''We can help you" attitude, have a smile for each patient, and a genuine "I care about you" personality. This individual, who often is a medical assistant with other duties as well, must be able to perform telephone triage, retrieve records, greet patients, present a bill, make appointments, and log data into the computer all the while remembering that the patient's comfort is of primary concern. The receptionist must genuinely like people and not be upset when they are grumpy, irritable, or depressed and worried about an illness.

The receptionist is the person who sets the social climate for the interchange between the patient and the physician and the rest of the staff. Patients who are very ill should not have to wait in the reception area, but should be shown to an examination room away from other patients. The receptionist or medical assistant may also have to entertain children who may be intent on disrupting patients. This is especially necessary if the parent seems unconcerned about keeping youngsters under control. If there are unexpected delays in the physician's schedule, be certain to notify patients of the delay tactfully and graciously and offer them the alternative of making other arrangements. Keep in mind that the patient's time is as valuable as the physician's.

Opening and closing the Facility

2010-04-18T01:43:00.001-07:00

When the facility is opened in the morning, everything should be in readiness. The receptionist or administrative medical assistant, who arrives at least twenty minutes before the first patient, will make a visual check of each room to be certain it is prepared and ready for the day. Rooms should be of a comfortable temperature, well-organized, pleasantly illuminated, and spotless. All necessary supplies and equipment should be checked for readiness. At all times, patient comfort and safety should be paramount. Patient charts for the day should be retrieved if not done so the prior evening. The receptionist will also check the answering service or machine for any telephone messages. An effective way to check a room's readiness is to place yourself in the room as a patient. Ask yourself how you feel about being there, what mood the surroundings create for you, and whether you would feel welcome and comfortable as a patient. At the close of the day, each room should be checked to make certain all equipment is shut down and doors and windows are secured. Be sure that all materials of a sensitive nature are under lock and key (this is not easily accomplished in facilities that use open-shelf filing, however). Any drugs identified in the Controlled Substances Act list of narcotics and non-narcotics must be in a locked and secure cabinet and should also be checked when leaving the office. Any petty cash kept on the premises must be locked in a safe container. It is best, also, to put each room and area in readiness for the next day. Local law enforcement officers can advise you on appropriate indoor and outdoor lighting as well as any other security measures to make both during and after office hours. Always contact the answering service to notify them that the office is closed and where and how the medical staff can be reached in an emergency. Keep in mind that the environment in which patient care is given must promote health rather than aggravate illness and feed anxiety. The environment must be clean, fresh, cheerful, and nonthreatening with contemporary furnishings, appropriate colors, proper lighting, and soothing textures. Even if patients are not consciously aware of the message they are getting from the office design and environment, they are subconsciously receiving it. The office environment reveals things that might subconsciously undermine a patient's confidence in the physician and the health care team.

Subpoenas Confidentiality & Statute of Limitations

2010-04-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

1) Subpoenas
The medical records may be subpoenaed and/or the physician and health care provider (subpoena ducestecum) may be subpoenaed to testify in court. The subpoena is a court order naming a specific date, time, and reason to appear. The staff in the ambulatory care setting usually will have ample time to make certain the record is current and complete prior to its inclusion in court. Out of courtesy, the physician will notify patients whose records have been subpoenaed. If, for any reason, the patient does not want the record released, the physician must call for legal advice on how to respond to the subpoena.
Certain records, because of their sensitive nature, may require more than a subpoena to be released. These include records related to sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and HIV testing, mental health records, substance abuse records, and sexual assault records. For the courts to have access to these records, a court order is required in some states.

2) Confidentiality
The care taken with subpoenas and court orders for certain information is to assure patients of confidentiality. The information in the medical record, including the information a patient shared with the physician and medical assistant, is private.

No patient information can be given to another (another physician, patient's attorney, insurance company, federal or state agency) without the expressed written consent of the patient. Care must be exercised at all times to ensure that the patient's right to confidentiality is not breached. For example, information given to unauthorized personnel associated with the physician's or clinic's practice in regard to the patient's condition or financial status regarding payment of bills violates the patient's right to confidentiality. Likewise, when discussing issues over the telephone that can be overheardsuch as the patient's account being turned over to a collection agencythe patient's right to confidentiality has been violated. There are certain disclosures of information about a patient's conditions and suspected illnesses that are required by law. Legally required disclosures are necessary when the public needs to know certain information for its safety and welfare. The disclosures supersede the patient's right to privacy and confidentiality. See ''Public Duties" in this chapter.

3) Statute of Limitations
No discussion of medical records is complete without a brief statement regarding the statute of limitations which will, in part, determine how long medical records are kept. Generally speaking, all records should be retained until after the statute has run, usually three to six years. Statutes of limitations most commonly begin at the time a negligent act was committed, when the act was discovered, or when the care of the patient and the patient-physician relationship ended. It is easy to understand why many physicians choose to keep their records indefinitely.

State and federal statutes set maximum time periods during which certain actions can be brought or rights enforced; there is a time limit for individuals to initiate legal action. The statute of limitations varies from one jurisdiction to another and a lawsuit may not be brought after the statute of limitations has run. For example, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the statute of limitations for an act of medical malpractice committed on an adult is three years. If harm to a patient resulted from a medical assistant administering the wrong dose of medication to a patient in Massachusetts, a lawsuit must be brought within three years from the time the medication error was made, with the three years commencing at the time the negligent act was committed.

Standard of Care and the points of Negligence

2010-04-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

Physicians, medical assistants, and all health care providers have the responsibility and duty to perform within their scope of training and to always do what any reasonable and prudent health care professional in the same specialty or general field of practice would do. That is what is expected of every physician when a contact is made by a patient. Failure to do what any reasonable and prudent health care professional would do in the same set of circumstances can be seen as a breach of the standard of care. Negligence is defined as the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances. The negligence occurs when someone suffers injury because of another's failure to live up to a required duty of care and is a primary cause of malpractice suits. Malpractice is professional negligence. The four elements of negligence, sometimes called the 4 Ds, are:

a) Duty: duty of care
b) Derelict: breach of the duty of care
c) Direct cause: a legally recognizable injury occurs as a result of the breach of duty of care
d) Damage: wrongful activity must have caused the injury or harm that occurred

If an individual has knowledge, skill, or intelligence superior to that of a layperson, that individual's conduct must be consistent with that status. Medical assistants are held to a high standard of care by virtue of their skills, knowledge, and intelligence. As professionals, medical assistants are required to have a standard minimum level of special knowledge and ability. This is what is known as duty of care.

Physicians and members of their staff may be called to testify in court to the standard of care. In such a case, they are usually considered expert witnesses. An expert witness is one who has knowledge and experience enough in a field to be able to testify to what is the reasonable and expected standard of care. Expert witnesses are expected to tell what they know to be fact and are best counseled to use lay terms rather than complicated medical language. The goal is for jurors and judges to understand the nature of any medical information shared. Visual aids, charts, and computer simulations are often used to illustrate or clarify testimony given by expert witnesses.

Risk management Torts And Medical Assistant

2010-04-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Some common areas of negligence may result in torts when the standard of care is not adhered to; practicing good risk management makes the medical assistant and the physician-employer less vulnerable to litigation.

1) Protect patients from falling from an examination table, wheelchair, or stretcher.

2) Check for faulty electrocautery. Have repair done by qualified technicians.

3) Check patient identification by correctly identifying patient before performing a procedure or administering a medication.

4) Never leave a patient unattended. If you must leave, pass the responsibility for the patient's care on to another individual.

5) Be particularly watchful with patients who have special needs such as the elderly, pediatric patients, and those with physical and emotional disabilities.

6) Properly label and identify all specimens. Handle specimens properly.

7) Make certain the patient has signed a consent for surgery and other care.

8) Follow all policies and procedures established by your employer.

9) Do not misrepresent your qualifications.

10) Document fully only facts and do not alter medical records.

11) Admit any error that may have occurred.

Range of Psychological Suffering In AIDS

2010-04-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Health care professionals will always be called upon to care for patients who have infectious diseases, diseases not known to the medical community, or new diseases that are rare but that may become more common in the future. New diseases are likely to be seen when genetic change in causative organisms or changing modes of agriculture put human populations into contact with new pathogens. This is especially true in developing countries where populations are high, and people live in crowded conditions without proper sanitation. Even though health care professionals are prepared to respond to the medical, surgical, and psychological needs of patients, they face additional challenges when helping people with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS, a deadly infectious disease.

One of the most important skills for medical assistants is the ability to respond to patients with special needs in an empathic way. Medical assistants will respond to the needs of patients with AIDS and individuals who test positive for the virus in an ambulatory care setting rather than a hospital or surgical center. In some measure, the ambulatory care setting removes the medical assistant from the demanding daily physical care of these individuals who can be so devastated by the ravages of AIDS. The psychological and emotional demands of the medical assistant, however, are as great, if not greater, than those placed upon health care professionals in a hospital or surgical center.

Infection with HIV causes extreme distress. The onset of symptoms is typically accompanied by the fear of developing AIDS. Distress is evident in the preoccupation with illness and patients' fears of getting cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Anxiety and depression are common. At the time of diagnosis, patients' responses may include denial, numbness, and inability to face the facts. Patients are angry at the disease, at the discrimination that often accompanies it, at the prospect of a lonely, painful death, at the lack of effective treatment, at medical staff, and at themselves. In many cases, guilt develops about past behavior and lifestyles, or about the possibility of having transmitted the disease to others. When the disease has been contracted through contaminated blood or blood products or by individuals who felt they were protected or safe from the disease, the anger may turn into rage. Sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, denial, and withdrawal are often exhibited. Some patients contemplate suicide. Because social and physical assistance are needed, a strong network of friends and family is particularly important. In the case of homosexuals and persons addicted to intravenous drugs, however, there are a large number who are estranged from their family's support system. Persons with AIDS may feel added strain if this is the first knowledge their families have of any high-risk behaviors associated with the transmission of disease. The psychological suffering leads to physical symptoms such as tension, tachycardia, agitation, insomnia, anorexia, and panic attacks. Persons who test positive for HIV often express an exaggerated sensitivity to disease and see any new symptom as bringing them closer to death.

As a medical assistant, you face the challenge of caring for persons with a life-threatening disease; you must comfort persons who face great suffering and death. You will become a source of information for patients with AIDS and their support members. You must be particularly sensitive and respectful toward individuals who are viewed as social pariahs. You will have to examine your own beliefs and lifestyle. You must be comfortable with your own sexuality and the sexuality of others whose lifestyle may differ from yours. You must replace any fear you have regarding the disease with knowledge based on medical fact, and always practice standard universal precautions As well as assisting your physician or employer in providing the best possible medical care, many nonmedical forms of assistance may be required by persons infected with HIV or AIDS. You may need to make referrals to community-based AIDS service groups, health departments, and to social workers for planning physical and financial assistance. Trained hospice volunteers or AIDS volunteers also are helpful to families and significant others, as well as to patients with AIDS.

There may be the need for patients with AIDS to obtain legal assistance and to identify their wishes and directions for care during the terminal stages of their illness. A living will or physician's directive might be encouraged. Refer to Chapter 10 for more information on physician directives. Patients who are losing mental acuity should be encouraged to appoint a legal guardian or durable power of attorney. As much as possible, be responsive to the family members or the significant others related to patients with AIDS. Answer any questions they may have regarding their fear of contracting the disease. It may be helpful to remind them that AIDS is difficult to contract, even among people at high risk for the disease. The risk of transmitting AIDS from daily contact at work, school, or at home is low. In virtually all cases, direct sexual contact or sharing of IV drug needles is the leading cause of transmission.

Maintaining Medical Records And Consent

2010-04-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

A major responsibility of the physician and the medical assistant is to maintain an accurate and up-to-date record of the patient's care. Whatever style of record is used, the credibility of the medical record will be a key factor in any litigation. All matters related to a patient's care must be charted, and these charts must be an accurate reflection of actual care rendered and charges made. An act not recorded is generally considered an act not done. Charts that are incomplete or illegible are not easily defensible. Necessary corrections should be made by drawing one line through the error and placing the correction above it with the person's initials and date. All entries should be properly signed and dated, also. Consistency in the medical records becomes a powerful defense for the physician.

1) Informed Consent:
Documentation of informed consent becomes an important part of the medical records. Every patient has a right to know and understand any procedure to be performed. The patient is to be told in language easily understood:
a. the nature of any procedure and how it is to be performed
b. any possible risks involved as well as expected outcomes of the procedure
c. any other methods of treatment and those risks
d. risks if no treatment is given

It is the responsibility of the health care provider to make certain the patient understands. If an interpreter is necessary, the physician must procure one.
Often, consent forms will be signed if there is to be a surgical or invasive procedure performed (Figure 9-5). The medical assistant may be asked to witness the patient's signature and may be expected to follow through on any of the physician's instructions or explanations but is not expected to explain the procedure to the patient. The signed consent form is kept in the medical chart and a copy is also given to the patient.

2) Implied Consent
Two circumstances related to consent are worth mentioning at this point. Implied consent occurs when there is a life-threatening emergency or the patient is unconscious or unable to respond. The physician, by law, is allowed to give treatment without a signed consent. Implied consent occurs in more subtle ways, also. The patient who rolls up a shirt sleeve for the medical assistant to take a blood pressure reading is implying consent to the procedure by the action taken.

3) Consent and Legal Incompetence
Consent for treatment is not valid if the patient is legally incompetent to give consent. Legal incompetence means that a patient either is found by a court to be insane, inadequate, or to not be an adult. In such instances, consent must be obtained from a parent, a legal guardian, or the court on behalf of the patient. Consent for treatment may be given only by the natural parent or legal guardian as determined by the court for a minor child, typically defined as one under eighteen years of age or the age of majority. An emancipated minor is one considered by the courts to be an adult. Emancipated minors may be defined as persons living on their own, who are self-supporting, who may be married, or who are in the military. They can legally give consent for treatment. Consent problems may arise when providing care to minors. Consent for medical care such as treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, alcohol or drug abuse, abortion, or birth control pose special problems. Some states allow minors to give their consent in these special situations.

Legal Public Duties And Drug Screening

2010-04-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Legal Public duties:

Physicians have a duty to the public to report diseases and injuries that jeopardize public health and welfare. Transmittable or contagious diseases and injuries resulting from knife or gunshot are examples and these must be reported to the appropriate authorities. This is done without the patient's consent because it is required by law. When reporting, it is important to do so properly and according to the laws in the state in which one is employed. Knowledge of which illnesses, injuries, and conditions to report, to whom to report, and the appropriate forms to submit is essential. Copies of all information must be kept for the office or clinic. Some states have laws specific to the release of information relative to mental or psychological treatment, human immunodeficiency virus testing, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome diagnosis and treatment, sexually transmitted diseases, and chemical substance abuse. Local or state health departments can provide lists of diseases and injuries to report and will also provide the appropriate forms.

Drug Screening:

States vary in the laws they have regarding the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. In general, employers are allowed to screen an employee for chemical substances if they believe the employee's work performance is being affected by the abuse. Great controversy surrounds pre-employment and random screening for drugs in the workplace. Some states allow widespread random testing of employees.
It is important that the worker's right to privacy not be violated. A tort of defamation of character could be claimed against an employer if the results of the testing become known to others. Get the patient's written consent when asked to collect a specimen for drug screening. Be certain the laboratory that performs the screening is qualified to perform the test. The possibility of liability is great if the ambulatory care setting does not have specific policies and procedures to employ in regard to specimen collection and testing. It should be carefully documented on the patient's record which medical personnel are responsible for the specimen from the time it was collected until the results are known.

The release of patients' records that pertain to chemical substance abuse is protected by federal laws under the Federal Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act. The law prohibits disclosure of information that identifies the patient as a chemi-cal substance abuser. Also, information about the patient's treatment cannot be divulged without the patient's written consent. The records can, however, be released by order of a subpoena to another health care professional during an emergency situation or if the records are to be used for research and program evaluation.

Changing societal values have contributed to an explosion of lawsuits in medical practice. Patients are more aware than ever of their rights, especially those of confidentiality and the right to privacy, consent, and records ownership. They readily seek redress when they perceive their rights to be violated. A healthy relationship between physicians and patients and between medical assistants and patients, as well as respect for the patient's rights, lowers the potential for the likelihood of a lawsuit. Knowledge of the laws that regulate medical and business practices in your state are necessary in order to be in compliance. Sources of information regarding state and federal laws can be obtained from the state medical society, the physician's liability insurance company, the state medical assistant society, the state attorney general's office, or the public library.

Law And Health Professional

2010-04-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

The law as it relates to health care has grown increasingly complex in the past decade. The agendas of federal and state governments include an investigation of quality health care, a desire to control health care costs (while hoping to assure equitable access to health care), and an interest in protecting the patient. A full discussion of health law requires several volumes; therefore, only the laws designated to protect the patient will be identified in this chapter, and emphasis will be placed on the ambulatory care setting.

For example, at the ambulatory care center of Doctors Lewis and King, a two-doctor family physician office, Dr. Lewis and Dr. King are especially careful about establishing stringent risk management procedures to protect patients from harm and the practice from potential liability. Dr. King has worked with office manager Marilyn Johnson, CMA to assemble a policy and procedures manual outlining everything from how telephone calls are answered to how patient medical records are documented and stored. Marilyn, in turn, seeks the input of the other administrative and clinical medical assistants as she frequently updates the manual. To ensure that they are providing the best care for patients while protecting themselves, four times a year the entire staff meets to review office policies, changing them as necessary or incorporating new procedures to meet new situations or legal mandates.

Being aware of the law and its implications and establishing sound practices and procedures will both safeguard patient rights and protect the health care professional.The most frequent law exercised in the ambulatory care setting is civil law, or law as it is related to individuals. Restitution awarded when a civil wrong is committed is usually monetary in nature. Criminal law addresses wrongs committed against the welfare and safety of society as a whole and punishment is usually imprisonment or a fine.

If a charge is brought against a physician as the defendant in a civil case, the goal is to reimburse the plaintiff, the person bringing charges (usually a patient), a monetary amount for suffering, pain, and any loss of wages. For example, a physician who has caused harm to a patient in the course of treatment may be sued in a civil case by the patient for the recovery of time lost from work as well as the pain and suffering that was the result of treatment.In a criminal case, charges are brought against the defendant by the state with the intent of preventing any further harm to society. For example, a physician practicing medicine without a proper license may be subject to disciplinary action from a professional association and criminal action by the courts.

Goal Setting For Medical Assistants

2010-04-09T01:20:00.000-07:00

Discoveries prove that goal-oriented employees are more effective and assertive than colleagues with no goals or future objectives. Recognizing the value of goal planning, many employers arrange planning sessions and/or seminars to encourage goal setting as a practical application for coping with stress and the development of career objectives. If this does not happen in your work environment, seek your own seminars for goal setting. Such an activity not only "centers" you in your current employment but helps you clearly picture your future plans and hopes.

What is a goal? The dictionary definition of a goal according to Websters Collegiate Dictionary is, "the result or achievement toward which effort is directed." In order to reach a desired goal, a person must implement planning along with a sincere desire to work hard. Skill in goal setting allows the medical assistant to clarify what must be accomplished and to develop a strategic plan to successfully achieve the goal. A goal must be specific, challenging, realistic, attainable, and measurable. Specific goals are focused and have very precise boundaries. A goal that is challenging creates enthusiasm and interest in achievement. Realistic goals are practical or beneficial for the present and for future self-actualization. An attainable goal refers to the fact that the goal is possible to fulfill. Measurable goals achieve some form of progress or success. By reflecting back on the process, one is encouraged to establish additional goals.

Long-range goals are achievements that may take three to five years to accomplish. Long-range goals give direction and definition to our lives and serve to keep us "on track" so to speak. Much discipline, perseverance, determination, and hard work will be expended in accomplishing long-range goals. Some adjustment and readjustment to your goals may be necessary, however. The rewards of goal achievement include satisfaction, pride, a sense of accomplishment, and a job well done.

Short-range goals take apart long-range goals and reassemble the required activities into smaller, more manageable time segments. The time segments may be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly periods.

As a graduate and new employee, one of your long-range goals might be to become the office manager in the ambulatory care setting in which you are currently employed. You may wish to attain this goal within the next three to five years; by breaking it into three longer range goals and a series of short-range goals, you will be able to measure progress and feel a sense of accomplishment. Examples of long- and short-range goals might include:

Long-range goal #1:
To become proficient in all back-office clinical skills during the first year of employment!
Short-range goals necessary to achieve this goal # 1:
a) Practice accuracy and proficiency when performing tasks and skills.
b) Practice efficiency by planning ahead for the equipment and supplies needed for each task performed.
c) Evaluate your progress on a regular basis and identify areas that need improvement.

Long-range goal #2:
To add front-office administrative tasks and skills to your routine during the second year of employment.
Short-range goals necessary to achieve this:
a) Practice accuracy and proficiency when performing all front-office tasks and skills.
b) Practice efficiency by planning ahead for the equipment and supplies needed for each task performed.
c) Evaluate your progress on a regular basis and identify areas that need improvement.

Long-range goal #3:
To begin to focus on office management during the third year of employment.
Short-range goals necessary to achieve this:
a) Develop a procedures manual for all back- and front-office tasks and skills.
b) Enroll in office management classes.
c) Focus on team-building skills.

By year four, you will be ready to move into the office manager position.
Long-range and short-range goals work together to help make changes in our lives. Goals keep life interesting and give us something to strive for. We can all reach goals successfully with some planning, hard work, discipline, and dedication.

Few Issues For Contemplation And Discussion

2010-04-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Medical assistants will encounter ethical and bioethical issues across the lifespan. A few issues are identified for contemplation and discussion. Issues of bioethics common to every medical office are the allocation of scarce medical resources,

Infants:
In premature, deformed, or severely disabled babies, ethical issues include the decision to provide or withhold treatment. Health care professionals and parents are not always in agreement. Central to this issue, also, is the expense involved in certain treatments and deciding who pays the cost of treatment.
Vulnerability of infants can lead to issues of negligence, abuse, or rejection. Parents are vulnerable too, for often they may not understand the ramifications of certain decisions about care of family members. Sometimes these decisions can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Parents are also vulnerable because they may be unable to cope with the needs of the entire family.

Children
Children who are ill-fed, housed, educated, and clothed exhibit great needs for preventive, curative, and rehabilitative health care.
Minors with sexually transmitted diseases often seek treatment without the parents' knowledge; they can be treated without parents' consent. Treatment also must be offered without parental consent to pregnant, infected, or addicted minors. Some health care professionals consider this an ethical issue and a violation of parents' rights. Child abuse presents an ethical dilemma, especially when a child confides physical, sexual, or emotional abuse to a health care worker but does not want the information divulged. Health care professionals, as mandated reporters, must report suspected child abuse. Will the child/patient view this as a violation of confidence or suffer dire consequences as a result of the reported abuse?

Adolescents
Adolescents as young as thirteen- to eighteen-years-old may seek abortion without parental knowledge or consent. Is this a violation of parents' right to medical information regarding their children? Or should the adolescent, fearful of parental reaction, have the right to decide? The adolescent's growing autonomy, need for independence, changing values, and desire for peer acceptance lead to a number of ethical issues that may involve the health care environment.

Adults:
Adults are increasingly faced with loss of jobs because of downsizing and layoffs. Previously with job loss, health care benefits could be lost. In August 1996, the Health Insurance Reform Act (Kassebaum-Kennedy Bill) was adopted. Among other things, this Act helps limit preexisting conditions and assures availability of individual policies for those who leave jobs voluntarily or involuntarily.
Many low-income women do not have sufficient access to prenatal care, which has proven to be a cost-saving medical measure that is critical to the health of both mother and infant. As employers seek to reduce the cost of health insurance benefit programs, many individuals and families are finding themselves shifted from one insurance program to another, leaving them with little or no continuity of care. Also, in some managed care programs, adults may receive medical services from a number of health care professionals with whom they have no opportunity to establish an ongoing physician-patient relationship. Even with a physician's directive or a living will, a dying patient's wishes may not be followed. Technological advances in medicine have created a situation where patients may not be able to exercise a choice in the death issue even in states that may allow physician-assisted suicide.

Senior Adults:
Dementia is a common problem that is physically and financially exhausting for the caregiver, who is usually a spouse or adult child. How do caregivers cope with their own needs and the needs of dependent adults? Decisions about how and where to provide care for the senior adult pose ethical dilemmas with no easy answers. Often, the elderly may reject nursing home placement, and there may be limited funds for such long-term care. Elderly patients have the right to maintain dignity and privacy, but often their dependency on others deprives them of these basic rights. Physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients is a prominent issue in our society, especially when elderly patients sense a total loss of dignity. Such a decision, however, is never easily made.

Contract between Patient and Medical Assistant

2010-04-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

A contract is a binding agreement between two or more persons. A physician has a legal obligation, or duty, to care for a patient under the principles of contract law. The agreement must be between competent persons to do or not to do something lawful in exchange for a payment. A contract exists when the patient arrives for treatment and the physician accepts the patient by providing treatment. An example of a valid contract occurs when a patient calls the office or clinic to make an appointment for an annual physical examination. Assuming both physician and patient are competent and that the physician performs the lawful act of the physical examination and the patient pays a fee, all aspects of the contract exist.

There are two types of contracts, expressed and implied. An expressed contract can be written or verbal and will specifically describe what each party in the contract will do. A written contract requires that all necessary aspects of the agreement be in writing. An implied contract is indicated by actions rather than by words. The majority of physician-patient contracts are implied contracts. It is not required that the contract be written to be enforceable as long as all points of the contract exist. An implied contract can exist either by the circumstances of the situation or by the law. When a patient complains of a sore throat and the physician does a throat culture to diagnose and treat the ailment, an implied contract exists by the circumstances. An implied contract by law exists when a patient goes into anaphylactic shock and the physician administers epinephrine to counteract shock symptoms. The law says that the physician did what the patient would have requested had there been an expressed contract.

For a contract to be valid and binding, the parties who enter into it must be competent; therefore, the mentally incompetent, the legally insane, persons under heavy drug or alcohol influences, infants, and some minors cannot enter into a binding contract. Medical assistants are considered agents of the physicians they serve and as such must be cautious that their actions and words may become binding on their physicians. For example, to say that the doctor can cure the patient may cause serious legal problems when in fact a cure may not be possible.

Termination of Contracts:
A broken contract or breach of contract occurs when one of the parties does not meet contractual obligations. A physician is legally bound to treat a patient until:
1) the patient discharges the physician
2) the physician formally withdraws from patient care
3) the patient no longer needs treatment and is formally discharged by the physician

Common Torts And How to Avoid Them

2010-04-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Some specific examples of common torts that can occur in the office or clinic are battery, defamation of character, and invasion of privacy.

1) Battery:
The basis of the tort of battery is unprivileged touching of one person by another. A patient must consent to being touched. When a procedure is to be performed on a patient, the patient must give consent in full knowledge of all the facts. It does not matter whether the procedure that constitutes the battery improves the patient's health. Patients have the right to withdraw consent at any time.
One example of battery is when a medical assistant insists on giving the patient an injection the physician ordered for the patient even though the patient refuses the injection. Another example can be seen when a physician performs additional surgery beyond the original procedure (the surgeon performed a hysterectomy for which consent was given, but is liable for battery for removing an abdominal nevus from the patient's abdomen without consent). It does not matter that the physician does not charge for the additional procedure. It also does not matter if the patient would have given consent if asked in advance.

2) Defamation of Character:
The tort of defamation of character consists of injury to another person's reputation, name, or character through spoken or written words for which damages can be recovered. Two kinds of defamation are libel and slander. Libel is false and malicious writing about another such as in published materials, pictures, and media. An example can be seen when the medical assistant writes in the patient's record, "Mr. O'Keefe's wife appears to be the cause of his ulcer." A copy of Mr. O'Keefe's records were later sent to a new physician who reviewed the record and saw the remarks quoted by the medical assistant.
Slander is false and malicious spoken words. Slander can be seen in the following comment directed by a patient toward the physician, "Dr. Woo is incompetent. He should have his license revoked." The statement is overheard by the office receptionist and other patients waiting in the reception area. In order for a tort of defamation of character (either libel or slander) to exist, a third party must see or hear the words and understand their meaning.

3)Invasion of Privacy:
Invasion of privacy is another kind of tort. It includes unauthorized publicity of patient information, medical records being released without the patient's knowledge and permission, and patients receiving unwanted publicity and exposure to public view. For example, if a minor unmarried girl has been examined for possible pregnancy, and the medical assistant telephones the laboratory report to the girl's home and inadvertently gives the results to someone other than the patient, her privacy has been invaded. A second situation exists when persons other than those providing care and performing examinations and procedures (essential or nonessential personnel) are allowed to be present without the patient's consent. Yet another example is that the patient's right to privacy has been violated when asked to walk from the examination room across the hall to a treatment room while wearing only a patient gown in full view of other patients and personnel.

Medical assistants and other health care professionals should:
a) close a door, pull a curtain, or provide a screen when looking at, handling, or examining the patient's body
b) expose only body parts necessary for treatment (drape the patient's body, exposing only that part which is being treated)
c)discuss patients with no one except those individuals involved in the patient's care and then discuss only those aspects that relate to the needs of the patient for care
It is not an invasion of privacy to disclose information required by a court order (subpoena) or by statute to protect the public health and welfare as in the reporting of violent crime.

Ethics And Bioethics For Medical Assistants

2010-04-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

It is impossible in today's world to function as a medical assistant without an awareness of the impact of ethics and bioethics on health care. Just as an understanding of the law and working within the law is vital information for the medical assistant, it is equally important to understand ethics and bioethics. From the previous blogposts, you have come to realize that there are many circumstances and situations that occur in health care that are guided and directed by state and federal laws. You, personally, are expected to be above reproach in all your actions in this regard.

You must also work with your employer and other members of the health care team to assure that each member of the staff functions within the law protecting both patients and providers. Ethics plays a huge role in such an endeavor. To function ethically demands that you never function outside the law. Ethics, however, demands something calls for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, confidentiality, and fairness. To function ethically, you must know yourself well and understand weaknesses and any vulnerabilities that might prevent you from acting ethically.

On occasion, ethical dilemmas occur because patients are unsure of the role of the medical assistant. For example, the medical assistants of Inner City Health Care are truly multidisciplinary and have a range of administrative and clinical skills. However, patients sometimes think of them as nurses who have an entirely different set of skills. While most of the medical assistants gently correct patients and make it a point to practice only within their area of expertise, occasionally newer members of the medical assistant staff may feel more "important" when patients regard them as nurses or physicians' assistants. This is just one situation in which medical assistants may need to reflect on their actions and be sure that they are acting ethically and within the range of their skills. Medical assistants also need to recognize the warning signs that they, or some other staff member, may be about to breach a code of ethics. Often, this kind of breach occurs when one has, or seeks to have, too much power; when one attempts to take too much authority; and when one has too little knowledge and experience. When a breach seems about to occur, the individuals involved should be encouraged to step back and review their actions and the likely consequences of those actions.

Ethics:
Traditionally, ethics has been defined in terms of what is right or wrong. For health care professionals, ethics is often defined by a code or creed as seen in the Code of Ethics from the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or the Principles of Medical Ethics from the American Medical Association (AMA). While these codes, and many others like them, are essential and very helpful, they lose their vitality unless they are understood by individuals who possess a personal and sound moral code or set of values. Unlike the law, which seldom changes unless challenged and examined in the courts, codes of ethics constantly change and evolve just as personal values and morals change and evolve. Every time values are challenged and examined, a medical assistant's personal ethical codes become stronger, the understanding of others' perceptions becomes clearer, and professionalism is enhanced.

Bioethics:
Bioethics brings the entire focus of ethics into the field of health care and into those ethical issues dealing with life. Never before in the history of medical care has bioethics been such a topic of concern. In the past, most bioethical decisions were made by physicians and esteemed members of the medical and/or legal profession. However, advancing technology giving patients and consumers numerous choices regarding their health care causes each one of medical assistants to take an active role in bioethics.

Medical Practice Acts and Medical Assistant's Role

2010-04-04T01:10:00.000-07:00

Each state has medical practice acts that regulate the practice of medicine with the intent of protecting its citizens from harm. These statutes, or laws, govern licensure, standards of care, professional liability and negligence, confidentiality, and torts. Some states also regulate personnel who may be employed in the ambulatory care setting. For example, some states require that medical assistants be licensed or certified to be able to perform any invasive procedures. Other states require additional training in radiology for the medical assistant to be able to take X-rays. Further, some states are so strict in their regulations that medical assistants perform mostly clerical functions. Certainly, medical assistants desiring to utilize their skills must be aware of state regulations and always perform only within the scope of those regulations.

The Patient's Bill of Rights was developed by the American Hospital Association in 1973 to establish more effective patient care and greater satisfaction for patient, physician, and hospital. While this Bill of Rights was written with the hospital patient in mind, patients in ambulatory care settings should be accorded the same rights. Although no list of rights can guarantee the kind of treatment patients have a right to expect, medical assistants should make every effort to conduct activities with the concern of the patient in mind. here are a number of ways in which the law governs physicians and their employees. Some of these issues are particularly pertinent to the ambulatory care setting and the medical assistants who work in these health care environments.

Rights Of Patients According to AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION'S PATIENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS (1973) are,

a) The patient has the right to considerate and respectful care.
b) The patient has the right to obtain from his physician complete current information concerning his diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis in terms the patient can be reasonably expected to understand.
c) The patient has the right to receive from his physician information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure and/or treatment. Except in emergencies, such information for informed consent should include but not necessarily be limited to the specific procedure and/or treatment, the medically significant risks involved, and the probable duration of incapacitation.
d) The patient has the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law, and to be informed of the medical consequences of his action.
e) The patient has the right to every consideration of his privacy concerning his own medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. Those not directly involved in his care must have the permission of the patient to be present.
f) The patient has the right to expect that all communications and records pertaining to his care should be treated as confidential.
g) The patient has the right to examine and receive an explanation of his bill regardless of source of payment.
h) The patient has the right to know what hospital rules and regulations apply to his conduct as a patient.

AMA Ethical Guidelines

2010-04-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

The American Medical Association and its nine-member Judicial Council publish a guide for ethical behavior for physicians that is beneficial to medical assistants who act in concert with their physician/employer. The guidelines are based on the publication Code of Medical Ethics Current Opinions of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association, 1992. Information shared here is not meant to be exhaustive; however, physicians and their employees will find it helpful to consider information on the following topics, which was summarized from this publication. The complete guide can be purchased from AMA office in Chicago, IL. See Appendix A for the address and phone number.

Advertising
Physicians and professional people have traditionally not advertised; however, it is not illegal to do so if claims made are truthful and not misleading. Advertisements may include credentials of physicians and a description of the practice and kinds of services rendered. Testimonials from patients are best avoided. Indeed, most physicians discover that word-of-mouth advertisement from patients is the best source of advertisement for their practice.

Media Relations
Physicians and all of their employees are not allowed to discuss a patient's medical condition with any member of the media without the patient's expressed approval. This does not apply to informa-tion that is considered ''public domain," which includes births, deaths, accidents, and police records.While more hospitals than ambulatory care settings will be involved in media relations, the following is an example of information released that is considered public domain and does not require the patient's consent.

Confidentiality
Physicians must not reveal confidential information about patients without their consent unless they are otherwise required to do so by law. Confidentiality must be protected so that patients will feel comfortable and safe in revealing information about themselves that may be important to their health care. The following list contains examples of the kinds of reports that allow or require health professionals to report a confidence.

1) A patient threatens another person and there is reason to believe that the threat may be carried out.
2) Reportable injuries and illnesses must be reported. They include injuries such as knife and gunshot wounds, wounds that may be from suspected child abuse, and communicable diseases such as influenza, AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases.
3) Information that may have been subpoenaed for testimony in a court of law.
When in doubt, it is always recommended that a physician have the patient's permission to reveal any confidential information.

Medical Records
The medical chart and the information in it are the property of the physician and the patient. No information should be revealed without the patient's consent unless required by law. The record is confidential. Physicians should not refuse to provide a copy of the record to another physician treating the patient so long as proper authorization has been received from the patient. A record cannot be withheld because of an unpaid bill.
Upon a physician's retirement or death, or when a practice is sold, patients should be notified and given ample time to have their records transferred to another physician of their choice.

Professional Fees and Charges
Illegal or excessive fees should not be charged. Fees should be based on those customary to the locale and should reflect the difficulty of services and the quality of performance rendered. Fee splitting (a physician splits the fee with another physician for services rendered with or without the patient's knowledge) in any form is unethical. Physicians may charge for missed appointments (if patients have first been notified of the practice) and may charge for multiple or very complex insurance forms. Physicians and their employees must be diligent to assure that only the services actually rendered are charged or indicated on the insurance claim. Only what is documented in the patient's chart is to be billed.

Coping With Stress For Medical Assistants

2010-04-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

When too much stress is experienced or if the stress lasts for a long period of time, it begins to affect the body in a negative way. Often one of the first signs of stress may be a headache caused by an increase in blood pressure. Feeling tired even after plenty of rest may be another signal of stress. If these conditions continue, other vital organs, such as the heart and lungs for example, may also be affected negatively. They can use Watercolor Pencils but Cardiac or respiratory arrest, transient ischemic attack, or fainting may be experienced.

For the medical assistant, new technology, a demanding work load, responding to the needs of persons who are ill or hurting, patients very diverse in culture, and the continuing need for creative problem solving are examples of the stressors encountered daily in ambulatory care settings.

Coping with Stress:
The following suggestions may be helpful in coping with stressors in the work environment.
1. Plan ahead
a) Review the schedule for the next day and pull charts before leaving the office for the day.
b) Keep an accurate inventory of supplies; order before the last items are used.
c) Read journals and keep current with new technology.
d) Participate in continuing education activities.

2. Arrive early
a) Review the patient charts for the day; notice any special problems or needs.
b) Be sure that each exam room is well-equipped and ready for patients.

3. Personal assessment
a) Get plenty of rest.
b) Exercise and eat balanced meals.
c) Dress appropriately. Clothing or shoes that are too tight cause stress.

4. Laugh
a) Learn to laugh at life's little problems.
b) Laugh at yourself.
c) Establish an appropriate level of humor with other members of the staff.

5. Music/Color/Light
a) Soft background music has been proven to soothe and promote relaxation.
b) Use color and light to create a calm atmosphere.

6. Breaks
a) Build morning and afternoon breaks into the schedule, even if only five or ten minutes.
b) Close the office during the lunch hour, and if possible, leave the facility.

7. Work smarter, not harder
a) Employ time management techniques for reducing stress by completing one task before moving on to another.
b) Prioritize tasks; when possible doing the most difficult task early in the day.
c) Do not procrastinate.
d) Be motivated.
e) Be a team member as well as working well independently.
f) Plan your work, then work your plan.

Burnout And Medical Assistants

2010-04-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

The term currently used to describe a kind of stress-related energy depletion that takes place in the working world is burnout (Wilkes & Crosswait, 1991). Burnout exhausts one's physical and mental resources, and leaves one feeling angry, helpless, and trapped. The military term for burnout is "battle fatigue." As a medical assistant, you are a member of the health care team that battles disease and the ravages of disease on a daily basis.

Burnout does not occur suddenly as does stress. Rather it is a gradual process that occurs slowly over a period of time. Typical signs and symptoms of burnout include:
1) Chronic fatigue
2) Anger
3) Self-criticism
4) Irritability
5) Hair-trigger display of emotions
6) A sense of being constantly under attack
7) Inability to keep even daily frustrations in perspective

Some individuals cope by developing negative work attitudes such as being critical, hard to get along with, or having a lack of motivation and a poor personal appearance and hygiene. These attitudes may lead to burnout. When some medical assistants with a high need to achieve and having no pencil sharpener electric
do not often reach their goals, they are apt to feel angry and frustrated. Failing to recognize these signs as symptoms of burnout, the person may throw themselves even more fully into work-related goals. Unless there is some type of revitalization outside of the workplace, burnout occurs.

According to industrial psychologist Harry Levinson, the following aspects of personality promote burnout:
1) A higher need to do a job well for its own sake then do most of one's peers
2) A greater need for achievement
3) More motivation to dominate and lead than peers
4) Less motivation to defer to authority
5) An intense need to achieve one's goals (Wilkes & Crosswait, 1991)

Preventing Burnout
The best way to treat burnout on the job is to prevent it. This can be accomplished by leaving work-related issues at the office when leaving for the day and study the real causes of divorce. Other things a medical assistant can do to reduce the risk of burnout include:

1) Maintain a positive self-esteem and self-image
2) Have regular physical examinations
3) Take a vacation
4) Give up unrealistic goals and expectations
5) Develop interests outside of your profession
6) Separate work from the rest of your life
7) Develop time management techniques

Stress Effects And Medical Assistants

2010-03-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

Even in the most well-managed ambulatory care setting, medical assistants and other health providers are likely to feel the effects of stress from time to time. They may be overworked on certain days, they may face difficult patient situations, they may find that the administrative and paperwork load is getting ahead of them. Our blog also helps today's busy, multifaceted medical assistant pinpoint the symptoms of stress and provides ideas for coping with stress as it occurs. The better equipped the medical assistant is to confront and solve the sources of stress, the less likely stressors will become so overwhelming as to lead to burnout on the job. Goal setting, recognizing one's limitations and potentials, setting priorities, and keeping a balanced perspective can work together to reduce stress and enable the medical assistant to take pleasure in working with patients and colleagues.

What is Stress?
We live in a global world that is continually affected by urgency and change. The body's response to change is termed stress. Anything can become stressful if it is strong enough, lasts long enough, or is repeated often enough. The demands to change that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors cause the body to go into arousal or alarm and may be anything from fear, worry, threat, or even challenging events. In most cases, stress is the direct result of change or the perception of some type of threat.
The body's internal environment changes constantly to accommodate for the demands of life. Our blood pressure, heart rate, respirations, peristalsis, and the amount of nutrients in the circulating blood supply are just a few examples of ways the body changes to maintain homeostasis. When events occur that cause this delicate balance to become unbalanced, the body adjusts or adapts to enhance its ability to survive.

Adaptation to Stress:
Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) theory proposes that adaptation to stress occurs in four stages, which he defines as alarm, fight-or-flight, exhaustion, and return-to-normal,

a) Alarm:
Awareness of perceived stress is recognized by the body during the alarm stage. Pain is a part of this system as it tells us when body tissue is being damaged. A therapeutic response in the ambulatory care setting is to recognize the fact that pain does produce a stress response. The medical assistant who falls behind during the daily rush of scheduling may experience a slight rise in blood pressure caused by the alarm stage of stress.

b) Fight-or-Flight:
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for fight-or-flight. The eyes dilate and the mouth becomes dry. The heart rate is increased, as is the pulse and respirations. Blood vessels in the skin constrict and blood vessels in the heart and brain dilate. There is decreased motility in the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. All these changes prepare the body for whatever action may need to be taken.

c) Exhaustion
The body can only stay in the fight-or-flight state for a limited time. If you have ever stretched a rubber band to the maximum and held it there for a period of time, eventually you tired of holding it and released the rubber band. If you were to examine the rubber band after its released, you would find that it has lost some of its elasticity which can never be regained. The same principle applies to the blood vessels throughout the body. After repeated periods of dilation and relaxation, they become weakened. If you have ever overstretched a rubber band, you know it snaps in two. Blood vessels may burst when they are dilated to an extreme or have developed weakened areas.

d) Return-to-Normal
During the return-to-normal stage, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated and the body returns to normal. The eyes constrict, salivary glands begin to function, and heart rate, pulse, and respirations decrease. Blood vessels dilate in the skin and constrict in the heart and brain. The gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts begin to function again.

Verbal Communication Of Medical Assistant

2010-03-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

Verbal communication takes place when the message is spoken. However, one must keep in mind the fact that unless the words have meaning, and unless the sender and the receiver apply the same meaning to the spoken words, verbal communication may be misunderstood. When patients speak a different language or when English is their second language, you may need to urge them to communicate nonverbally; you can encourage them to do so by using appropriate, nonthreatening gestures. Sometimes, it may be important to communicate verbally with a family member in order to gain specific information. Be sure not to violate any confidentiality of the patient, however.

Courteous:
Courtesy is important in all aspects of communication. It only takes a moment to acknowledge a patient with a smile or by name. Knocking on the exam room door before entering validates the patient's right to privacy and builds self-esteem. When a patient must be placed on hold on the telephone, thank the patient for waiting. Try not to keep the patient waiting too long if you must find information. Remember to be courteous to colleagues in the office. Good working relationships and professionalism are always enhanced by simple courtesy.

Cohesive:
Cohesive message is organized and logical in its progression. The cohesive message does not ramble and does not jump from one subject to another. The patient should be able to follow the message easily. The medical assistant should always allow time to summarize detailed messages and utilize responding skills to verify that the patient fully understands the message.

Verbalize Your Patient:
Sensitive medical assistants will encourage patients to verbalize their concerns. The ability to ask questions in a nonprobing way and elicit patient response are important functions in any ambulatory care setting, for it is critical to know a patient's history, current medications, and other relevant data.

When communicating within the health professions, keep in mind the following:
a) Good communication skills are necessary in establishing rapport with patients.
b) Patients feel respected and validated when called by their full name, such as Mary O'Keefe or Mrs. O'Keefe.
c) Patients should be encouraged to verbalize their feelings.
d) Give technical information to patients in a manner that they can understand.
e) Allow patients to make practical application to their personal health needs.

Telephone Techniques For Medical Assistants

2010-03-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

It has often been said that the telephone is the lifeline of the physician's office. Communication over the telephone requires understanding on the part of each communicator. Each medium uses the proper tools to get the job done. Speaking on the telephone is much like a conversation between two blindfolded individuals. The facial expressions cannot be seen, there is no eye contact, and there is no visual feedback. The listener will interpret mood by the tone and pacing of voice and the words spoken. When speaking on the telephone, quick conclusions are drawn. Often, we jump to conclusions, and the communication is misinterpreted.
The old, cold, aloof, formal business greeting comes across like frostbite in the medical office setting. It sounds curt, bored, and uncaring. Think of welcoming a new acquaintance into your homethen practice the same characteristics when speaking on the telephone. Speaking clearly, use words that will be easily understood and ask questions to verify that the patient has understood the message being conveyed. Concentrate on enunciating and being understood. If you hear, "What? I didn't understand you. I can't hear you," slow down and speak a little louder with distinct enunciation directly into the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece should be held one to two inches away from the mouth. Project your voice at the mouthpiece and then project another foot further. Your voice is the delivery system for your words and thoughts. Speak with confidence and conviction.

Have you ever called an office and had the firm name clipped off? The name of the office is important. To avoid clipping off the office name, practice using buffer words. Buffer words are expendable; if you clip them off, at least the office name remains intact. Use buffer words before the office name and before you identify yourself. "Good morning, this is Inner City Health Care. This is Walter, how may I help you?" Good morning and this is are buffer words.
All the techniques for effective face-to-face communication must be more intentionally observed when the communication is over the telephone because you cannot see the person with whom you are speaking. You must listen with full attention to make certain that the message sent and received is correct.

To close a telephone conversation to schedule an appointment, for example, consider the following:
1. Use the patient's name if it can be done without announcing the name to persons in the reception area.
2. Confirm the date and time of the appointment.
3. Identify which physician if there is more than one physician in the office.
4. Give any specific instructions that may be necessary.
5. Say goodbye.

Nonverbal Communication For Medical Assistants

2010-03-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Verbal communication alone is not always adequate in conveying the message being sent. In most instances, more than one mode or channel of communication is employed. Nonverbal communication, often referred to as body language, includes the unconscious body movements, gestures, and facial expressions that accompany speech. The study of this body language is known as kinetics.

Nonverbal communication is the language we learn first. It is learned seemingly automatically when infants learn to return a smile or respond to touches on the cheek. Much of our body language is a learned behavior and is greatly influenced by the primary caregivers and the culture in which we are raised. Feelings and emotions are communicated most often through nonverbal means. The body expresses its true repressed feelings using body language. Most of the negative messages we communicate are also expressed nonverbally and usually are unintentional. Experts tell us that 70 percent of communication is nonverbal.

Facial Expression:
Facial expression is considered one of the most important and observed nonverbal communicators. Each facet or aspect of the anatomy of the face sends a nonverbal message. Often expressions of joy and happiness or sorrow and grief are reflected through the eyes. Staring is dehumanizing and is often interpreted as an invasion of privacy. The medical assistant must learn not to stare when patients present with ailments that make them "look" different. Patients such as these are individuals who have needs and who perhaps feel pain, discomfort, and have decreased self-esteem and value. These feelings will only be amplified if the medical assistant and other health professionals are unable to "see" them as humans. A lack of eye contact may also be viewed as avoidance or disinterest in being involved.

Territoriality:
Territoriality is the distance at which we feel comfortable with others. In the classroom, for example, students claim their territory the first day of class. The area is well-defined by using books and papers or by placing the arm, hand, or chair on boundary lines. When another invades the territory, a shift in body position or the use of eye contact sends the message "This is my area." The medical assistant may perform many invasive tasks during the course of an office visit. Examples include taking vital signs or giving injections, both of which require touching the patient. It is beneficial to explain procedures that invade another's space before beginning the procedure so that it will not be perceived as threatening. This helps to empower the patient by involving the patient in the decision-making process and builds a sense of trust in the medical assistant.

Posture:
Like territoriality, posture is important to allied health care professionals. Posture relates to the position of the body or parts of the body. It is the manner in which we carry ourselves, or pose in situations. We tend to tighten up in threatening or unknown situations and relax in nonthreatening environments. Those who study kinesics feel a posture involves at least half the body and that the position can last for nearly five minutes. When the patient is seated with the arms and legs crossed, the message of closure or being opinionated may be relayed. On the other hand, sitting in a chair relaxed with the hands clasped behind the head indicates an attitude of being open to suggestions. Slumped shoulders may signal depression, discouragement, or in some cases even pain.

Position:
Position is a key factor to consider while communicating with the patient. Most physician-patient relationships utilize the face-to-face communication arrangement. When speaking with a patient, the physician or medical assistant will want to maintain a close but comfortable position enabling observation of all cues being sent, both verbal and nonverbal. Standing over a patient can convey a message of superiority, and too much distance between the two parties may be interpreted as avoidance or being exclusive. Generally, leaning toward the patient expresses warmth, caring, interest, acceptance, and trust. Moving away from the patient may be interpreted as dislike, disinterest, boredom, indifference, suspicion, or impatience.

Gestures and Mannerisms:
Most of us use gestures and mannerisms when we "talk" with our hands. This form of body language may be useful in enhancing the spoken word by emphasizing ideas, thus creating and holding the attention of others.

Touch:
Touch is a powerful tool that communicates what cannot be expressed in words. Its appropriateness in the patient/health professional relationship has well-defined boundaries and requires the use of good judgment on the part of the professional. Infants who are not touched, cuddled, and loved do not grow and develop as those who receive these reassuring gestures. The touch that communicates caring, sincerity, understanding, and reassurance is usually welcomed and considered to be a therapeutic response. Most patients will understand and accept the touching behavior as it relates to the medical setting.

Perception:
Perception as it relates to communication is the conscious awareness of one's own feelings and the feelings of others (Fast, 1970). To be most useful and therapeutic as health professionals, we must first explore our own feelings and appreciate and accept ourselves. Learning to use perception involves the ability to sense another's attitudes, moods, and feelings. It takes practice and experience to develop and use this skill effectively. Being attentive to other professionals and observing their use of perception will yield insight into its usefulness and provide an example to emulate.

Patient Interview Techniques For Medical Assistant

2010-03-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

All health professionals must be adept at interview techniques knowing how to encourage the best communication between themselves and the patient. It is important to remember that an unequal relationship exists between the health professional and the patient. The health professional, whether it be the physician or the medical assistant, is in the power position and has a great deal of control over the patient. Therefore, it is important to equalize the relationship as much as possible. That is the reason why some professionals use the term client rather than patient.

Early in the interview, the patient must feel comfortable enough to risk being honest with the health professional. The health professional must build an atmosphere of trust by showing concern for the patient. A gentle touch and a warm, caring facial expression may be all that is necessary. Always be honest and genuine in your responses to patients. Be sympathetic and empathic and create an environment that is free of hypocrisy.

When the medical assistant is interviewing the patient for the chief complaint, it is important to listen with a "third" ear. Listen to what the patient is not saying but is apt to exhibit through nonverbal communication. You might choose to share your observation of the nonverbal message with the patient, thus encouraging the patient to verbalize more freely. When feelings are shared, validate and acknowledge those feelings through such statements as "I understand your distress." You can verify the communication by reflecting or paraphrasing what the patient has said.

You will be asking closed questions during the interview. Closed questions can be answered with a simple yes or no.

"Are you still taking your medication?"

"Are you in pain now?"

You will also use open-ended questions with the patient. These questions encourage therapeutic communication since the patient is required to verbalize more.

"What kind of help will you have at home during your recovery?"

"How are you coming along on this diet?"

Indirect statements will also prove helpful in facilitating therapeutic communication. An indirect statement will elicit a response from a patient without the patient feeling questioned. Examples of such statements include:

"Tell me what you've been doing since you retired."

"I'd like to know more about your exercise program."

Biases and Prejudices Of Medical Assistants

2010-03-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Personal preferences, biases, and prejudices will enter into many physician-patient relationships. Such biases affect the types of communication possible. When individuals are not aware of their biases or prejudices, hostile attitudes may prevail. For therapeutic communication to take place, biases must be examined, a person's comfort level with each bias determined, and measures taken to ensure that a hostile attitude is not present. Bias is defined as a slant toward a particular belief. Prejudice is defined as an opinion or judgment that is formed before all the facts are known; prejudice is a preconceived and unfavorable concept. Common biases and prejudices in today's healthcare society of certified and non-certified medical assistants include:

a) A preference for Western style medicine

b) Choosing physicians according to gender

c) Prejudice related to a person's sexual preferences

d) Discrimination based on race or religion

e) Hostile attitudes toward persons with a value system opposite your own

f) A belief that persons who cannot afford health care should receive less care than someone who can pay for full services

Medical assistants must recognize such biases and prejudices so that their own culture with its biases does not prevent them from responding therapeutically in communications with patients. Such recognition requires being aware of the differences among human beings and willingly accepting the uniqueness of each person.

Universal Precautions By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

2010-03-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

In an effort to curb the transmission of AIDS, hepatitis B, and other infectious diseases, in 1985 the CDC issued guidelines known as Universal Blood and Body Fluid Precautions or simply universal precautions. It is now known that consistent use and adherence to these guidelines greatly minimizes the risk of infectious disease transmission. At the recommendation of the CDC, health care providers were to consider every patient potentially infectious for AIDS, hepatitis B, and other bloodborne pathogens and to routinely and consistently use the techniques of universal precautions as a means of infection control.

Following is a summary of the CDC's universal precautions and guidelines for control of AIDS, hepatitis B, and other infectious diseases:

a) Consider all (patients') blood and body fluids to be contaminated.

b) Always wash hands before and after (patient) contact.

c) Always wash hands if contaminated with blood or body fluids.

d) Wear gloves when handling or touching blood, body fluids, body tissue, mucous membranes, nonintact skin, or contaminated equipment and supplies.

e) Wear gloves when performing venipuncture and other blood access treatments or procedures.

f) Change gloves after each patient contact.

g) Wash hands after glove removal. Gloves do not replace handwash technique.

h) Wear gloves, gown, mask, goggles/face shield if splashing of blood or body fluids can occur or if exposure to droplets of blood or body fluids is a possibility. Examples of this are wound care and endoscopy.

i) Use extreme caution when handling needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments (sharps) during procedures and when handling them after procedures are completed. Dispose of sharps in an approved puncture-proof container that should be located as close as practical to the work area.

j) Use a mouthpiece if performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation although saliva has not been implicated in transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

k) Clean blood and body fluid spills with agency disinfectant or a 10 percent solution of sodium hypochlorite (household bleach).

l) Report needlesticks, splashes, and contamination by wounds or body fluids. Follow up with employee health services, physician, and other appropriate personnel.

m) Health care workers with open lesions (injury or wound) or dermatitis (skin rash) should avoid direct contact with patients and their supplies and equipment until healed.
n) Laboratory specimens and their containers are modes of disease transmission and gloves should be worn during handling.

o) Pregnant health care providers should be especially careful to adhere to the guidelines so as to protect themselves and the unborn child.

Above are the fifteen Universal Precautions By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a medical assistant's medical safety!

Centers for Disease Control and Its Role In Infection Control

2010-03-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is responsible for studying pathogens and diseases in an effort to prevent their spread. A division of the United States Public Health Department, the CDC has issued a number of guidelines over the past twenty-five years that have enabled health care professionals to practice responsible infection control. As diseases evolve, and as new diseases are introduced into our society, the CDC revises and updates existing guidelines or issues new control measures to contain the spread of infection.

In 1970, the CDC developed a system of seven isolation categories for patients with infectious diseases. This category system included strict isolation, respiratory isolation, protective isolation, enteric precautions, wound and skin precautions, discharge precautions, and blood precautions.

In 1985, the agency released a set of guidelines known as Universal Blood and Body Fluid Precautions, or simply universal precautions. These infection control practices were written in response to an increase in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hepatitis B, both bloodborne diseases, and to other infectious diseases as well.

Beginning in 1991, the CDC infection control guidelines were reviewed and subsequently revised. In 1996, a new set of guidelines was released. Standard precautions reflect improved recommendations intended to protect all health care providers, patients, and visitors from a wide range of communicable diseases. At the same time that the CDC issued the new standard precautions, they also released a second tier of precautions called transmission-based precautions. These are intended to be used in addition to standard precautions when caring for specific categories of patients. To understand the evolution and intent of these various CDC infection control guidelines, universal precautions, standard precautions, and transmission-based precautions will be examined in more detail in our medical assistant's blog.

STANDARD PRECAUTIONS For Infection control for medical assistants

2010-03-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

The STANDARD PRECAUTIONS For Infection control for medical assistants in a hospital or health care center are,

1) Wash Hands (Plain soap)
a) Wash after touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, and contaminated items.
b) Wash immediately after gloves are removed and between patient contacts.
c) Avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments.

2) Wear Gloves
a) Wear when touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, and contaminated items.
b) Put on clean gloves just before touching mucous membranes and nonintact skin.
c) Change gloves between tasks and procedures on the same patient after contact with material that may contain high concentrations of microorganisms. Remove gloves promptly after use, before touching noncontaminated items and environmental surfaces, and before going to another patient, and wash hands immediately to avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments.

3) Wear Mask and Eye Protection or Face Shield
Protect mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth during procedures and patient-care activities that are likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions.

4) Wear Gown
Protect skin and prevent soiling of clothing during procedures that are likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions. Remove a soiled gown as promptly as possible and wash hands to avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments.

5) Patient-Care Equipment
Handle used patient-care equipment soiled with blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions in a manner that prevents skin and mucous membrane exposures, contamination of clothing, and transfer of microorganisms to other patients and environments. Ensure that reusable equipment is not used for the care of another patient until it has been appropriately cleaned and reprocessed and single use items are properly discarded.

6) Environmental Control
Follow hospital procedures for routine care, cleaning, and disinfection of environmental surfaces, beds, bedrails, bedside equipment and other frequently touched surfaces.

7) Linen
Handle, transport, and process used linen soiled with blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions in a manner that prevents exposures and contamination of clothing, and avoids transfer of microorganisms to other patients and environments.

8) Occupational Health and Bloodborne Pathogens
Prevent injuries when using needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments or devices; when handling sharp instruments after procedures; when cleaning used instruments; and when disposing of used needles.

9) Never recap used needles using both hands or any other technique that involves directing the point of a needle toward any part of the body; rather, use either a one-handed "scoop" technique or a mechanical device designed for holding the needle sheath.

10) Do not remove used needles from disposable syringes by hand, and do not bend, break, or otherwise manipulate used needles by hand. Place used disposable syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items in puncture-resistant sharps containers located as close as practical to the area in which the items were used, and place reusable syringes and needles in a puncture-resistant container for transport to the reprocessing area.
Use resuscitation devices as an alternative to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Standard Precautions By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

2010-03-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

The CDC spent several years researching, improving, and developing recommendations to protect health care providers, medical assistants, patients, and their visitors from infectious diseases. This intensive period of research resulted in standard precautions, a set of infection control guidelines that should now be utilized by all health care professionals for all patients.

Standard precautions combine many of the basic principles of universal precautions with techniques known as body substance isolation (BSI), a system that maintains that personal protective equipment should be worn for contact with all body fluids whether or not blood is visible. Although BSI was developed not by a federal or state agency but by a private hospital, its techniques nonetheless have been adopted by many health care facilities and medical assistants.

The rationale behind developing the new standard precautions was that while universal precautions and body substance isolation provide a good degree of protection, the CDC recognized that both could be improved upon. Advantages of the new standard precautions are that they include all of the major recommendations of universal precautions and body substance isolation, while incorporating new information; they simplify medical terminology to be as user-friendly as possible; they use new terms to avoid confusion with existing infection control and isolation systems; and they are intended to protect all patients, all health care providers, and all visitors.

According to the CDC, standard precautions are ''designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection in hospitals (CDC, 1994)." They apply to:

1. blood;
2. all body fluids, secretions, and excretions regardless of whether or not they contain visible blood;
3. non intact skin;
4. mucous membranes.

To be effective, standard precautions must be practiced conscientiously at all times by all certified medical assistants. Although standard precautions were intended primarily for use in acute care facilities such as hospitals, they can and should be applied in other types of facilities including the ambulatory care settings where many medical assistants are likely to be employed.

Precautions For HIV and HBV for medical assistants

2010-03-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is caused by a bloodborne virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the ensuing infection directly affects the immune response. The HIV is responsible for T cell destruction; T cells are the white blood cells that provide immunity. HIV is carried in semen, blood, and other body fluids, and the virus can penetrate mucous membrane. Once inside the body, the depletion of helper T cells leaves the patient vulnerable to a wide range of infections and malignancies. The infections that the patient contracts are devastating. There is no curative treatment for AIDS, but there are antiviral drugs such as AZT and DDI and others that are used to halt cellular synthesis.
In any of the acute viral hepatitis diseases, the liver becomes inflamed; in healthy persons, destroyed hepatic cells will regenerate except in elderly patients. There are five types of acute viral hepatitis, including hepatitis A (HAV); hepatitis B (HBV); hepatitis C (HCV); hepatitis D (HDV); and hepatitis E (HEV). The hepatitis B virus (HBV) represents the greatest risk to health care providers. While a new type B vaccine that confers 96 percent immunity is available for high-risk groups, it is nonetheless critical to practice standard precautions to curtail the transmission of this very preventable disease.
Hepatitis B (HBV) is easier to contract than HIV in perimenopause symptoms. Symptoms of HBV include loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, headache, fever, and jaundice, a yellow discoloration of the skin. The liver function is impaired and, in severe cases, may even be lost. It is important to note that in some individuals HBV may be asymptomatic and can still damage the liver and possibly lead to cancer of the liver. Usually, once patients become infected, they remain so for life, and are capable of transmitting the virus to others.

Transmission of HIV and HBV:
HIV and HBV are transmitted essentially through the same means. Contracting either disease requires direct contact with the virus living in infected blood and body fluids. The viruses are transmitted primarily through the following means:
a) Sexual contact with an infected person (heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual). The virus enters through the vagina, rectum, penis, or mouth.
b) Sharing needles for intravenous (IV) drug use with an infected person.
c)Receiving blood or blood products from an infected person (all blood collected for transfusions is routinely checked for HIV and HBV; therefore, risk from this source is now rare).
d)Intrauterine infection of the fetus by a pregnant infected woman.

Despite the similarities between HIV and HBV, the risk of contracting HBV is greater than contracting HIV. For example, HIV infection following an accidental needlestick is approximately 1 percent, while HBV infection following an accidental needlestick can be as high as 30 percent (Lane, 1993). Medical assistants and all other health care providers must understand the importance of protect-ing themselves from the viruses that cause AIDS and hepatitis B and other pathogenic microorganisms as well. Through strict adherence to standard precautions and routine infectious disease control measures such as those found in medical asepsis the risk of contracting an infectious disease is minimized for medical staff.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) For Medical Assistants

2010-03-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

Universal, standard, and transmission-based precautions all make use of barriers or personal protective equipment (PPE). The barriers consist of gloves, mask, gown, and goggles/face shield. Gloves reduce the risk of contamination to hands but do not prevent needles or other sharp instruments from penetrating the skin. Masks and protective eyewear reduce the contamination risk to mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Gowns protect clothing from contamination. Barriers are used in various combinations depending upon the procedure or treatment being performed on patients. As a medical assistant, you may be exposed to infected blood and/or body fluids and must wear PPE!

Special Precautions must be taken by medical assistants while handling these equipments, they must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at the time of handling,

1) Needlestick
One of the most common reasons for exposure to blood is caused by accidentally sticking oneself with a dirty (used) needle after performing invasive procedures such as injections and venipuncture. In the past, needlesticks were common due to the practice of needle recapping. Needles are no longer recapped, broken off, removed from syringes, or manipulated by hand in any way. They are disposed of in the approved puncture-proof container designated for sharps (Figure 4-2A). The risk to a health care provider of HIV infection caused by a needlestick is very slight; however, the risk for HBV infection caused by a needlestick can be significantly higher. (Additional information regarding specific procedures to follow should an accidental needlestick occur as well as other safety procedures will be found later in this chapter and are included in the OSHA and CLIA rules and regulations).

2) Disposal of Infectious Waste
Infectious waste (contaminated items) is described as any item that has come in contact with patient blood or body fluids. These items must be handled with gloves and disposed of by placing them in the appropriate biohazard containers that are provided by an agency with which your employer has contracted (Figure 4-2B). Infectious waste is either incinerated (burned) or subjected to sterilization by autoclave to render it harmless before it is disposed of in a sanitary landfill. The medical assistant should be placing a sturdy disposable plastic bag marked with the biohazardous waste symbol into a durable cardboard box for collection of infectious waste material. When full, these boxes are picked up by an agency for incineration or for autoclaving before disposal in a public landfill.

Methods to Prevent Exposure By Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

2010-03-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Methods to Prevent Exposure By Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for medical assistants are,
There are seven major strategies mandated by OSHA for the prevention of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and OPIM.

1. Standard Precautions
Adherence to the CDCs Standard precautions is required; i.e., treating ALL bodily fluids and materials as if they are infectious. Handwashing is stressed and employers must provide handwashing facilities and must ascertain that employees use them frequently and especially following exposure to blood or OPIM.

2. Engineering Controls and Work Practice Controls
Engineering controls and work practice controls consist of the physical equipment and mechanical devices an employer provides in an attempt to safeguard and minimize employee exposure. A common example of an engineering control is sharps disposal containers (Figure 4-16). Others are mechanical pipettes, fume hoods, and splash guards. If and when occupational exposure continues after the engineering controls are in place, PPE must be used. Handwashing facilities or appropriate antiseptic hand cleanser (when handwashing facilities are unavailable) must be readily available. If antiseptic hand cleanser is used, hands must be washed with running water and soap as soon as possible. Employers must ascertain that employees wash their hands as soon as possible following the removal of gloves or other PPE, that employees wash hands and other skin surfaces with soap and water, flush eyes at the eyewash station, and flush mucous membranes with water as soon as possible following contact of these body parts with blood or OPIM.

3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
When workplace exposure still exists after using engineering and work practice controls, employers must provide PPE at no cost to the employee. PPE is used to place a barrier between the employee and blood and/or OPIM that can contaminate skin, mucous membranes, or non-intact skin. PPE consists of such items as latex gloves, masks, goggles, face shields, gowns, laboratory coats, and plastic mouthpieces used during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Figure 4-18). PPE provides protection only if it prevents blood or OPIM from permeating through it onto clothes, eyes, skin, mouth or other mucous membranes.

4. Cleanliness of Work Areas
The employer must maintain a work site that is clean and sanitary and have a written schedule for cleaning and decontaminating the work area after contact with blood and/or OPIM. Work surfaces that can become contaminated with blood or OPIM must be decontaminated after the work procedures are completed, after surfaces are contaminated, or at the end of the work shift. Some of the areas include counter tops, floors, examination tables, and wastepaper baskets. When cleaning a work surface where there is the possibility of blood or OPIM present, latex gloves must be worn. A 10 percent solution of household bleach is used; alcohol is ineffective. Gloves should be worn when the spill is wiped with paper towels.

5. Hepatitis B Vaccine
Hepatitis B vaccine must be made available free of charge to every employee, full-time, part-time, or temporary within ten days of work assignment. (This refers to employees who have the potential for occupational exposure, and who can "reasonably" be expected to have skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM. The vaccine is given in three doses over a six-month time period and is used to protect the employee from infection with the hepatitis B virus. It is an intramuscular injection with an approximate 96 percent rate of effectiveness. An employee has the right to decline taking the vaccine, but must sign a declination form. There is the option to reconsider receiving the vaccine at a later time.

6. Follow Up After Exposure
An accidental exposure is broadly defined as one in which blood, blood-contaminated body fluids, or body fluids or tissues to which standard precautions apply are introduced onto a mucous surface, onto nonintact skin, or to the conjunctiva via a needlestick, skin cut, or direct splash. If an incident exposes an employee to any of these, the employer must make available a confidential medical evaluation in which is documented:
1) The circumstances surrounding the event
2) The route or routes of exposure
3) The identification of the person who was the source of the exposure

7. Medical Records
Medical records of an employee who has suffered an occupational exposure must be kept for the length of employment plus thirty years and confidentiality must be guaranteed. The following information is to be included in the employee's record: name and social security number, HB vaccination status with dates, results of any examinations or tests, a copy of the health care provider's written opinion, and a copy of the information that was provided to the health care provider. The records must be available to the employee, to OSHA, and anyone with the written consent of the employee, but not the employer.

Medical Assistants And Asepsis

2010-03-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

All health care providers continually come into contact with patients who are ill. Some patients have communicable or contagious diseases; others may have a suppressed immune system that does not protect them from infection. In the course of performing your duties as a medical assistant, you will be in contact with blood and body fluids that may be highly infectious. It is of extreme importance to a medical assistant's health and safety as well as the health and safety of your patients be protected.

There are a number of infection control measures that can be used to reduce the transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens. Medical asepsis, also known as infection control, consists of procedures and practices that health care professionals use to prevent the spread of infection. State and federal agencies also have established policies, procedures, and guidelines for health care providers and employers to follow in order to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, a division of the United States Public Health Department, is an agency that investigates various diseases in an attempt to control them and makes recommendations on how to prevent the spread of disease. The CDC issued the system of seven isolation categories for patients with infectious diseases; it recommended the guidelines known as universal precautions; and, in 1996, it released standard precautions, which represent the most current and comprehensive approach to infection control.

Two other governmental agencies that serve to regulate the safety of patients and health care workers are the Clinical Laboratory Amendments of 1988 (CLIA '88) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). CLIA '88 comes under the aegis, or protection of asepsis and of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the federal government. OSHA comes under the United States Department of Labor. Both agencies require that health care settings, including clinical laboratories, adhere to the strict regulations that they set forth.

The purpose of CLIA '88 is to safeguard the public by regulating all testing of specimens taken from the human body. The purpose of OSHA is to require employers to ensure employee safety in regard to occupational exposure to potentially harmful substances. This also applies for medical assistants asepsis regarding the topic of Medical asepsis.

Federal Health and Safety Guidelines

2010-03-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Federal Health and Safety Guidelines For Medical Assistants are,

a) Standard Precautions Issued By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Public Health Department, Atlanta, Georgia,
Issued in 1996 to augment and synthesize universal precautions and techniques known as body substance isolation (BSI). Standard precautions contain measures intended to protect all health care providers, patients, and visitors from infectious diseases.

b) Transmission-based Precautions By CDC,
Designed to reduce the risk of airborne, droplet, and contact transmission of pathogens. These are used in addition to standard precautions and are intended for specific categories of patients.

c) Universal Blood and Body Fluid Precautions (Universal Precautions) By CDC,
Released in 1985 to assist health care providers to greatly reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting infectious diseases, particularly AIDS and hepatitis B.

d) Clinical Laboratory Amendments of 1988 (CLIA '88) By Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
Safeguards the public by regulating all testing of specimens taken from the body!

e) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Guidelines By OSHA, United States Department of Labor,
Requires employers to ensure employee safety in regard to occupational exposure to potentially harmful substances!

Communication therapeutic skills for medical assistants

2010-03-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Of all the tasks and skills required of the medical assistant in the ambulatory care setting, none is quite so important as communication. Communication is the very foundation for every action taken by health care professionals in the care of their patients. Because medical assistants are often the liaison between patient and physician, it is critical to be aware of all the complexities of the communication process. A medical assistant shold describe effective communication principles, apply those principles to face-to-face communication as well as telephone communication, and describe the basic roadblocks to communication. The key word to all communication in the medical setting is therapeutic. In all conversation with patients, the more therapeutic the conversation, the more satisfied the patient will be with the care provided.

Importance of Communication
Communication in the health setting is the foundation for all patient care and is of the utmost importance. The majority of this communication in the ambulatory care setting will be therapeuticit will utilize specific and well-defined professional skills. Patients' satisfaction with their medical care is as much related to the effectiveness of the communication between themselves and their chosen health care provider as it is to the actual care itself.
A patient choosing a physician wants a clear understanding of the physician's professional and technical skills as well as the physician's ability to communicate. The patient may question family members and friends regarding their personal physician's professional manner and communication skills. Questions often asked include: ''Will your doctor talk with me so that I understand what is being said?" "Will your doctor listen to what I have to say?" "Can I talk to your doctor honestly and openly?" When communication is therapeutic, patients feel validated and respected. Therapeutic communication skills create a feeling of comfort for patients even when difficult or unpleasant information must be exchanged.

Cultural Influence on Therapeutic Communication
For true therapeutic communication to take place, the influence of culture must be considered. Cultural influences include one's ethnic heritage, geographic location and background, genetics, economics, educational experiences, life experiences, and value system.
Any or all of these influences may exhibit themselves when health care is sought by patients. A patient's ethnic heritage may indicate a slant toward the Eastern influence in medicine as opposed to the traditional Western style more commonly taught and practiced in the United States today. Geographic location and background may reveal that a person is more comfortable with a family physician in a very small clinic than in a large metropolitan multispecialty practice. The influence of economics may reveal a discomfort if the office staff and patients have a different perception about how billing is managed and when and how payment is expected.
Educational and life experiences will, in part, determine how patients react to their care. Patients with family members being treated for a chronic illness will have more knowledge and understanding of that illness in their own lives. Individuals who have already suffered a great deal of loss and grief in their lives may handle the information of a life-threatening illness more easily than someone who has experienced little grief.

Causes Of Transmission Based diseases and Precautions

2010-03-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Causes Of Transmission Based diseases and Precautions For Medical Assistants are,

When the CDC was in the process of developing a new guideline for isolation precautions in hospitals, the agency arrived at what it terms two tiers of precautions. The first tier is called the standard precautions, discussed earlier in this chapter, designed for all patients regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. The second tier of precautions is intended for patients diagnosed with or suspected of specific highly transmissible diseases. These are known as transmission-based precautions.
Transmission-based precautions condense the seven existing categories of isolation precautions developed by the CDC in 1970 into three sets of precautions based on routes of infection. Released in 1996 to complement standard precautions, transmission-based precautions reduce the risk of airborne, drop-let, and contact transmission of pathogens and are always to be used in addition to standard precautions. These airborne, contact, and droplet precautions also list specific syndromes that can appear in adult and pediatric patients who are highly suspicious for infection. They identify the appropriate transmission-based precautions to be used until a diagnosis can be made.

Causes of Disease and Disease Transmission

When providing patients with health care, medical assistants run the risk of contracting, or acquiring, an infection from pathogens that are causing patients' illnesses. Such pathogens are viruses, bacteria, fungi, and others that can be found in patients' blood and body fluids. In medical offices, ambulatory care centers, and hospitals, many ill patients are seen every day. Pathogens can be easily transmitted to another person if care is not taken to prevent such an occurrence. Consistent use and adherence to infection control measures significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission. The CDC recommends that health care providers consider each patient to be potentially infectious for AIDS, hepatitis B, and other bloodborne pathogens and to routinely and conscientiously apply the techniques of standard precautions as a means of infection control.

Avoiding Exposure to Chemicals For Medical Assistants

2010-03-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Students may come into contact with harmful chemicals when doing procedures that can cause such problems as burns to the skin and eyes. Students will be made aware of these through information packaged with kits and MSDS. If the chemical comes in contact with the skin, it must be washed with water immediately and continued for five minutes. Chemicals that get into the eye must be rinsed for fifteen minutes (unless contradicted on the label). Eyewash stations and showers should be available in case of accidental exposure to hazardous chemicals with a follow-up in the emergency room.

Chemical spills should be carefully cleaned following the procedure for the particular chemical. Spill clean-up kits that consist of various items such as a shovel, cardboard, PPE, neutralizing agent, and/or absorbent material should be available.

Toxic fumes can occur with certain chemicals and certain tests can cause lung irritation and damage. This type of chemical should be handled under a fume hood that will take the fumes away by means of a ventilation mechanism.

A student safety laboratory manual outlining an exposure control plan with emphasis on standard precautions, PPE, work practice controls, lists of hazardous chemicals, and MSDS should be compiled and accessible. Students should be thoroughly familiar with its contents. Additionally, students should be educated as to the location and identification of hazardous chemicals just as employees are.

It is of utmost importance that students learn about and understand the OSHA standards and comply with them. In so doing, they will safeguard themselves from harmful chemicals and bloodborne pathogens.

Airborne Precautions For Medical Assistants

2010-03-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

Airborne Precautions in the Category of Transmission-based Precautions for medical assistants are,

1) Patient Placement:
a) Use private room that has:
b) Monitored negative air pressure,
c) 6 to 12 air changes per hour,
d) Discharge of air outdoors or HEPA filtration if recirculated.
e) Keep room door closed and patient in room.

2) Respiratory Protection
a) Wear an N95 respirator when entering the room of a patient with known or suspected infectious pulmonary tuberculosis.
b) Susceptible persons should not enter the room of patients known or suspected to have measles (rubeola) or varicella (chickenpox) if other immune caregivers are available. c) If susceptible persons must enter, they should wear an N95 respirator. (Respirator or surgical mask not required if immune to measles and varicella.)

3) Patient Transport
a) Limit transport of patient from room to essential purposes only.
b) Use surgical mask on patient during transport.

4) Patient Placement
a) Private room, if possible. Cohort if private room is not available.

5) Gloves
a) Wear gloves when entering patient room.
b) Change gloves after having contact with infective material that may contain high concentrations of microorganisms (fecal material and wound drainage).
c) Remove gloves before leaving patient room.

6) Wash
a) Wash hands with an antimicrobial agent immediately after glove removal. After glove removal and handwashing, ensure that hands do not touch potentially contaminated environmental surfaces or items in the patient's room to avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments.

7) Gown
a )Wear gown when entering patient room if you anticipate that your clothing will have substantial contact with the patient, environmental surfaces, or items in the patient's room, or if the patient is incontinent, or has diarrhea, an ileostomy, a colostomy, or wound drainage not contained by a dressing. Remove gown before leaving the patient's environment and ensure that clothing does not contact potentially contaminated environmental surfaces to avoid transfer of microorganisms to other patients or environments.

8) Patient Transport
a) Limit transport of patient to essential purposes only. During transport, ensure that precautions are maintained to minimize the risk of transmission of microorganisms to other patients and contamination of environmental surfaces and equipment.

9) Patient-Care Equipment
a) Dedicate the use of noncritical patient-care equipment to a single patient. If common equipment is used, clean and disinfect between patients.

What Is The Job Of Medical Assistant?

2010-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

The medical field is very wide with different areas to cover when it comes to picking a solid career. If you've always wanted to work in this field without going through the years to be a doctor, and if you simply do not have the interest to be a nurse, then why not try your hand at becoming a medical assistant :)

What exactly is the job of medical assistant ? Well, first of all you need to know that filling this position would mean that you become the wingman to your employer who would be a doctor or surgeon. Your job would revolve around task carried out at the front desk and in the back room as well. At the front desk, you are a little like a secretary but of a higher standard as you won't only be in charge of calls, mails, faxes and making appointments but you would be required to keep in touch with various insurance companies associated with the patients. You would also need to keep track of supplies and put in orders as and when it's called for.

The back room is where all the action takes place, this is where your knowledge comes in handy. Here, you would play the role as the co-doctor by taking down the patients information and basic routine test such as weight and height measurements, blood pressure, filling up medical history forms as well as questioning and listening to the patients. Aside from that, you would also need to assist the doctor in simple medical procedures such as drawing blood, cleaning wounds and removing stitches.

With the right training and enough experience, as a medical assistant, you could be yielding a good salary of about $20,ooo per year. Hence, it is also important for you to be certified or you won't be able to land a good job despite the high demand for the job.

The above article confirms that the job of a medical assistant is worthwhile if you are really interested in it!

Thanks for reading!

Certified Medical Assistant Salary

2010-03-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

Salary of a certified medical assistant may be lesser compared to somebody who has more broad training in health care, for example, a nurse or a doctor, but it is still a very admired and wealthy career choice for both male and female. No one can deny that people who choose a profession in medicine typically draw in a healthy salary per year. This is true regardless if you are a doctor, a lab person or a medical assistant. Even if earnings do differ depending on the level of training and range of responsibilities given, it is always said that working in a medical environment is quite profitable and rewarding!

At the starting point of your job, certified medical assistant salary is normally in the 25,000USD to 30,000USD range. This is the amount that someone “who has completed their Medical Assistant Education and received their certification can look forward to earn” once they take a full-time position at a medical institution. The place where the person works will also verify how high his salary is going to be. A doctor's private office, such as a professional surgeon's office will pay elevated salary than a nursing home or public hospital would. One of the big advantages of working in a private office is the dedicated experience that can be gained.

Working as a medical assistant in a reputed health institute is a career path that many trained assistants chooses to follow. It is common for these types of positions to be concentrated within colleges and universities around us. A certified medical assistant salary is on standard $27,000 for a person who is able to secure a position of responsibility.

Salaries evidently boost as the person gains experience and skills with time and hard work. Also keep in mind that as the demand for skilled and trained medical assistants increases, the salary range will move upwards as well. As we can see that only two years of schooling is required to get a degree, this is an amazing career path for someone wanting a position that promises a worthwhile salary without the additional trouble of spending years in lessons and classes.

We have seen different examples that salary of Medical Assistants differ with locations. For e.g. Comprehensive details of salary of a Medical Assistant by State shows that New York currently has the highest average salary. Number of medical assistant jobs in New York City are also high, according to the Medical Assistant Salary by City chart, the peak average salary medical assistants will find is in the Big Apple. With the recent economic depression, many medical assistants and other health care workers are wondering what steps to take for best possible career expansion. My advice is to amplify your medical assistant education, by completing a medical assistant qualifications program or other Medical trainings to enlarge the scope of your profession and gain a respected medical assistant salary!

Role Of Medical Assistants

2010-01-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

In the ambulatory care setting, the most important allied health professional is the medical assistant. The medical assistant, performing both administrative and clinical tasks under the direction of the physician, is a critical link between patient and physician. The medical assistant serves in many capacities receptionist, secretary, transcriptionist, bookkeeper, insurance coder and biller, patient educator, and clinical assistant.

The latter requires the medical assistant to be able to administer injections and perform venipuncture, prepare patients for examinations provide better diabetes diet, assist the physician with examinations and special procedures, and perform electrocardiography and various laboratory tests. Medical assistants triage and assess patient needs when scheduling appointments and tests. However, while medical assistants have a range of responsibilities, it is critical that they perform only within the scope of their training and personal capabilities and always function within ethical and legal boundaries.

Because medical assistants are often the patient's first contact with the facility and its physicians, a positive attitude is important. They must be excellent communicators, both verbally and nonverbally, and project a professional image of themselves and their physician-employer. Medical assistants who believe in their work, who are proud of their career, and who convey compassion and caring provide a positive experience for patients who may be ill or in a great deal of discomfort.

Value of Medical Assistant to a Health Care Team

2010-01-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

Value Of Medical Assistant

With their broad range of competencies in both administrative and clinical areas, medical assistants are increasingly valued as health care team members. Medical assistants are the great communicators, serving as liaison between physician and hospital staff and between physician and any number of allied and other health professionals. Because they are the first providers to see or speak with patients, they undertake responsibility for directing, informing, and guiding patient care while establishing a professional and caring tone for the entire health care team. The value of a competent, professional, caring medical assistant is immeasurable in today's fast-paced and challenging health care environment. And therefore they have large numbers of medical assistant jobs.

The health care environment is a dynamic profession and the profession of medical assistance one that changes rapidly in response to new technology and societal needs. In an effort to reduce the cost of health care, managed care has had and will continue to have a profound impact on all health care settings. A strong health care team is critical in the health care setting, as primary care physicians, specialists of all disciplines, and allied and other health professionals collaborate on the best way to provide patient care. Increasingly selected alternative treatments may begin to complement traditional health care solutions. In almost any health care environment, but especially the ambulatory care setting, the medical assistant is a vital link in the team and is responsible for a range of responsibilities, both clinical and administrative.

Early Medical Treatments

2010-01-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!
Today we will talk about early medicine and medical treatments!
The writings of ancient Egypt reveal that when a woman suspected she was pregnant, she urinated over a mixture of wheat and barley seeds combined with dates and sand. If any of the grains sprouted, she was surely pregnant. If the wheat grew, she would have a boy. If the barley grew, it would be a girl. Urine is still used in modern day tests to determine pregnancy.

Early medical treatments were often crude. For a sore throat, a physician might mix barley water, vinegar, and mulberry syrup for a gargle. Someone suffering with rheumatism might be given a prescription of chopped mice, lynx claws, and elk hooves. Rhubarb, senna, bitter apple, turpentine, camphor, and mercury were among the physicians' staples. Some physicians washed the instruments used in treating the ill; others scoffed at such a practice. Malaria, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, and dysentery were commonplace. Leprosy was prevalent and venereal diseases were rife. Smallpox was frequent in villages; sometimes the sufferer would be placed in a meat pickling vat and fumigated. The death toll from such diseases was particularly high among children. Finally in the eighteenth century, Edward Jenner made a great contribution to the prevention of disease by discovering a method of vaccination against smallpox.

Medicine progressed rapidly during the nineteenth century. Two very important discoveries occurred: anesthesia to alleviate pain during surgery and the realization that some bacteria cause disease. Once it had been proven that certain bacteria were causes of diseases and were transmissible agents responsible for contagion, greater care was taken to prevent that transmission. Asepsis became important to reduce the risk of infection. The Hungarian physician and obstetrician Ignaz Phillipp Semmeweis was able to prove that physicians who came from an autopsy directly to the care of postpartum women, without scrubbing their hands and washing instruments, carried infection with them that often caused puerperal fever (septicemia following childbirth) and death to the new mothers.

The names of Louis Pasteur , Joseph Lister , and Robert Koch are familiar to all bacteriologists. Louis Pasteur has sometimes been referred to as the Father of Preventive Medicine as the result of his work in recognizing the relationship between bacteria and infectious disease. Joseph Lister revolutionized surgery because of his belief in Pasteur's theory of using carbolic acid as an antiseptic spray. He insisted that all instruments and physicians' hands be washed with the solution, Figure 3-3. Robert Koch used the culture-plate method for isolating bacteria and demonstrated how cholera was transmitted by food and water. His discovery changed the way health departments cared for persons with infectious disease.

Cultural Heritage in Medicine And Cruises

2009-12-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today's health professional will give care to individuals of varied cultures who hold differing philosophical beliefs toward medicine. The informed and caring health professional will recognize that a person's culture and ethnic heritage play an enormous role in any kind of health care. For example, if the cultural experience leans toward a more natural, non-medical form of health care, treating the patient with prescription drugs will necessitate an explanation and rationale of the use of medications. Otherwise, the patient may refuse to take all or part of the medications, thus hindering recovery. It would be better to seek a treatment for the patient that embraces both the health care professional's desire to heal and the individual's wish to respect cultural tradition.

In every society, medicine has been an important element for its people. From the earliest time, culture was an important influence on medicine, and modern day medicine is in many ways a reflection of this diverse and rich heritage.

It is certain that religion, magic, and science all played a vital part in the history of medicine. Religion was important because it was perceived that certain gods were to be called upon for a cure through ceremonies, prayers, and sacrifices. Magic was practiced because it was such an important part of many societies and was seen as an essential ingredient to chase away evil spirits. The importance of science was demonstrated in the use of plants and minerals for medicinal purposes. The use of plants and minerals is found throughout medicine's history. Unearthed clay tablets reveal hundreds of plants, minerals, and animal substances used for medicinal purposes in ancient Mesopotamia and Babylon. The Chinese pharmacopoeia was rich in the use of herbs.

Skeletal remains of prehistoric cultures show advanced stages of arthritis, a nearly toothless jaw and only a 20- to 40-year lifespan for humans. Skull bones indicate round holes (trephination) believed to be necessary to release the evil spirits thought to be causing a person's illness. Mesopotamian cultures believed that illness was a punishment by the gods for violation of a moral code. Ancient Egyptians believed the body was a system of channels for air, tears, blood, urine, sperm, and feces. Medicines are also given a lot of importance while voyagers go for a Mediterranean Cruise around the Mediterranean Sea. All the channels were thought to come together in the rectum, and were believed to become easily clogged. Thus, emetics, enemas, and purges of the anus were common treatments. In ancient India, plastic surgery was practiced. Punishment for adultery was cutting off the nose, therefore allowing physicians many opportunities to practice and refine the art of nose reconstruction.

The ancient Chinese examined and carefully monitored the pulse in each wrist. It was believed that the pulse had hundreds of characteristics important in medical treatment. There were five methods of treatment to bring a person back to the right track. They were:

1. Cure the spirit.

2. Nourish the body.

3. Give medications.

4. Treat the whole body.

5. Use acupuncture and moxibustion.

Acupuncture is the piercing of the skin by long needles into any of 365 points along twelve meridians that transverse the body and transmit an active life force called ''ch'i" (pronounced chee). Each of these spots is related to a particular organ specialy on an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise since Moxibustion requires the use of a powdered plant substance that is made into a small mound of the person's skin and then burned, usually raising a blister.

Even today's allopathic physicians would agree that the first four goals of treatment from Chinese culture are excellent guidelines for health care. There is an increasing awareness, also, that acupuncture has a valid place in allopathic medicine, especially for the control of pain or treatment of drug dependency.

Certified Medical Assistant Work

2009-11-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

Medical Assistance is a field which is continuously emerging and will be around with us. It does not depend on any fact which involves adverse conditions of the national economy or things related to it. So by the introduction of MAs, you don’t have to turn into a full time doctor or a certified nurse in order to gain a worthwhile job, there are now numerous types of medical jobs career that fulfills above requirements. These include jobs from medical admin assistant to x-ray takers. One of these positions in the health industries which are growing quicker than any industry is medical assistant work.

What does medical assistant work involve? MA tasks fluctuate from admin jobs to medical jobs for e.g. checking blood sugar. So to begin a MA career you should join a MA certification program. These types of programs give you all the training and experiences required to become a certified MA. We have many diverse healthcare institutions that have need of MAs. Since MAs are inexpensive than doctors so in these economical crisis they are getting in much elevated demand which means that worthwhile candidates will not have a hard time finding medical assistant work around them.

One can also confirm this information on the government’s employment stats website online! This clearly shows that the MA field is growing quicker than average. You can also find the salary of medical assistants on the website. The particulars on web are precise as it tells us that which offices pay what amount. In addition one can also determine that which area or locality has the uppermost rate.

MAs have many work responsibilities when they are at job. This is an in demand vocation that requires obsession for serving others. They are used for organizational work and to execute clinical work in definite medical areas. Medical assistant work is occasionally perplexed with physicians. The job of PA is to observe and diagnose patients under the direction of the head physician of hospital. MAs job frequently involves keeping order in medical organization and to make sure that things run accordingly right through the day.

Medical assistants are really vital constituent required in smooth running of a medical office. You have to be relaxed while interacting with others to achieve well in this field. You will be given to mush to handle right away, so I will advise you to be prearranged and responsible during your job. We have seen that most medical assistants are full time employees, doing 42 plus hours, but one can also find positions as part-time workers or those seeking work at nighttime or on weekends.

Jobs in California

2009-11-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

Progress has been made in the advancement of the profession of medical assisting since the first group of medical assistants gathered to become organized and formed the American Association of Medical Assistants. That is why medical assistant jobs around California has increased to double the amount it was last year! For example, the number of certified medical assistants has exceeded 50,000 since certification began in 1963, and the year 1995 recorded the largest number of candidates who sat for the certification examination. The total number of medical assistants in the work force is 1.2 million and employment opportunities continue to grow. Educational requirements have been increasingly important: as of February 1, 1998, only graduates of medical assisting programs accredited by CAAHEP will be eligible to take the certification examination. These examinations are frequently held in California to provide assistants with good jobs in the city. The AAMA continues to promote standards of excellence for its members, encouraging continuing education and awarding continuing education credits to members of AAMA via various means.

All of these factors are evidence of a strong professional perspective and should offer encouragement and support to any student or graduate of medical assisting.
Becoming a professional is a gradual process and cannot be learned in its entirety from a textbook. The challenge of becoming a professional medical assistant will require open-mindedness and a desire for continued learning and education, jobs, certification, and re-certification of the CMA credential, and professional involvement through organizational participation.

As the scope of work done by medical assistants broadens and medical assistants seek and require formal education, the professional medical assistant from California will gain additional respect and be in even greater demand while the jobs hunt. Medical assistants must continuously pursue excellence, which is the hallmark of all professional behavior.

Certified Medical Assistant Employment NYC

2009-11-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

It is important to note that the Medical assistants seized about four hundred thousand jobs in America and NYC (New york). About 60% of these MAs worked in staff of medical physicians; 14% were employed in public and private hospitals and 10% worked at the offices of supplementary medical practitioners, for instance chiropractor, optometrist and podiatrist. A large amount of the remnants worked in further health care places for example out-patient care center and in residential care services. Certified medical assistant employment is predictable to cultivate a lot faster than the previous average, by taking the medical assistants in the midst of the maximum growing professions over the 2006 to 2016 period. Due to this reason job opportunities are supposed to be exceptional, chiefly for those with proper schooling, skill, experience and qualifications.

Since we are observing that the health industry is widely expanding which is mainly because of technical and scientific advances in medicinal and health sector plus we are also watching the increase in world population so it is not hard to predict that there will be a “greater than before” requirement for many health care personals which will result in the employment of medical assistants in the fast mounting health care industry.

Medical Assistants are required in an ever-increasing number of group practices, clinics, and other health care facilities because the can take care of both organizational and clinic duties. Additionally, MAs are working largely in out-patient setting which is a swiftly growing zone of the health care industry. Those job hunters who are ready to work as a medical assistant can find outstanding job scenario in their field. MAs are required for a huge number of medical jobs. Note that loads of other chances will come by the need to restore MAs who are switching their jobs will get the best jobs

Now-a-days medical assistants are used to subordinate the costs in increasing healthcare industry that is why we can predict that the job prospects are likely to amplify quickly through 2013. Certified medical assistant employment consist the duties to assist in major and minor surgery, to take care of the patients, and to conquest procedure and routine which are typically accomplished by a physician as they are able and cost effective employees of health centers. We will see that with the improvement in medical technology, the use of medical assistants will boost for the reason that they can work in places detached from the physician, but will still uphold the management. Their employment is constantly vacant in the internal city of NYC or country areas where major-physician do not normally like to work. Medical assistants frequently locate employment in hospital, prison, educational medical facility, and in municipal clinics. So there is always a large chance that you can get a job while being a medical assistant.

Historical Perspective of Medical Assisting

2009-11-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

Historically, when physicians began their practices, it was common for them to hire individuals and train them on the job. Physicians originally hired nurses, but eventually they came to realize that nurses could not perform the variety of duties that are required when working in medical offices and ambulatory care centers. The nurse's role was limited to assisting the physician with clinical procedures, whereas the medical assistant's role was and is much broader and includes a multiplicity of activities, procedures, and responsibilities, both administrative and clinical.

Today, with a much more informed patient comes the need for educated and credentialed medical assistants. Additionally, in today's litigious atmosphere, which makes health care providers vulnerable to malpractice suits, most employers recognize the importance of employing medical assistants who are professionally prepared through formal education. Employers want knowledgeable and dependable medical assistants in order that physicians can focus their time and attention on the medical decisions, treatments, and techniques for which they have been educated and licensed. This leaves in the hands of the medical assistant assisting the physician and the operation and management of the practice.

It was in 1978 that the profession of medical assisting was formally recognized by the United States Department of Education. Twenty-four years prior to this official recognition of the profession, a group of medical assistants gathered to establish a professional organization. With support, encouragement, and guidance from the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) was founded in 1956, Figure 1-5. The first president of the organization was Maxine Williams.

In 1991, the AAMA's board of trustees approved the present definition of medical assisting as,
Medical Assisting is a multi-skilled allied health profession whose practitioners work primarily in ambulatory settings such as offices and clinics. Medical Assistants function as members of the health care delivery team and perform administrative and clinical duties.
That was a short info on the historical perspective of medical assisting. I hope you liked it!

Physical Attributes Of Medical Assistants

2009-11-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

As a good and caring medical assistant, appearance is important in patients' perceptions of the delivery of their care. Imparting the look of a professional requires an appearance that is clean and fresh and wholesome; in general, an appearance that reflects good health habits, Figure 1-2. Good personal hygiene practices, weight control, healthy-looking skin, hair, teeth, and nails all contribute to a professional appearance. Rest, good nutrition, regular exercise, and recreation all promote good health.

Female medical assistants should wear appropriate light daytime makeup. For the safety of both the professional and the patient, no necklaces or dangling earrings should be worn. The only jewelry worn should be ear-posts or wedding rings. Hair should be neat and off the collar. Wear only clear, unchipped nail polish. Male medical assistants should be clean-shaven and have short hair. The only jewelry should be a wedding ring. Colognes, perfumes, and after-shave should not be worn at work.

Patient care can place physical demands upon medical assistants. Lifting and moving patients is often required and the use of correct body mechanics will help minimize injuries to the back. While every reasonable accommodation is made for physically challenged medical assistants, to be mobile without assistance is important because medical assistants will move about throughout the day while performing tasks and procedures. It is frequently necessary to bend, stoop, kneel, and crouch, especially when filing and retrieving patients' records, and for other tasks as well. Most procedures require that medical assistants have the ability to hear and see well for the accurate completion of tasks. Listening to blood pressures, taking a medical history, observing patients, performing phlebotomy, and identifying microorganisms under a microscope are some of the routine tasks and procedures performed daily in a medical facility. Manual dexterity is also needed for manipulating certain instruments and for entering data using a computer.

It is important that medical assistants learn to develop the ability to communicate well verbally and non verbally with patients during their jobs. Compliance with the physician's treatment plan is important for a positive outcome of patients' illnesses patients will feel more comfortable and less threatened in a medical office or ambulatory center that encourages staff to keep them informed.

Personal Attributes of Medical Assistant

2009-11-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to write briefly about the personal attributes of a medical assistant..

Consider the following points which will certainly help you to provide patients with the best health care possible and learn what it means to be a professional medical assistant!

1) Empathy
To have empathy means to consider the patient's welfare and to be kind. It means stepping into the patient's place, discovering what the patient is experiencing, and then recognizing and identifying with those feelings. Medical assistants should treat patients as they would want to be treated. A visit to the doctor is often a time of fear and anxiety.
Apprehension can be allayed tremendously when patients realize that their health care provider understands their feelings and desires to make their lives more pleasant and comfortable.

2) Attitude
A friendly, warm disposition and a sense of humor will help patients feel more at ease. A sincere affection for people can be conveyed by actions that facilitate open and honest communication. An attitude should radiate genuine interest. On occasion, difficult patients can test the tolerance level of the most experienced medical assistant because they seem never to be content with the care or services received. But no matter what the circumstances, patients should never be treated with disinterest or in an unfriendly manner. The medical assistant should always be pleasant and courteous.

3) Dependability
Being dependable means that employer and co-workers rely on the medical assistant to be respectful of them, of patients, and of equipment and materials. Other members of the health care team will expect duties and responsibilities to be carried out responsibly. A dependable person interacts with coworkers in a supportive manner, is punctual, and limits absences from work.

4) Initiative
The willingness and ability to work independently shows initiative. A person with initiative is observant, notices work that needs to be done, and then takes action to complete those tasks without being told. Employer and coworkers must be able to count on one another to anticipate patients' needs and be attentive to work that needs to be accomplished. The successful medical assistant will be ready to pitch in and recognize when others need assistance.

5) Flexibility
The ability to be adaptable is a trait that serves all professionals well. When caring for ill people, unexpected situations arise daily and medical assistants must be able to respond to a variety of situations (many of them emergencies and unanticipated) without losing a sense of equilibrium. To improvise, or solve problems that arise either routinely or spontaneously, is a characteristic worth nurturing.

6) Desire to Learn
A willingness to continually learn and grow is the mark of a true professional. With the multitude of new technology in medicine, there is an ongoing necessity for constant learning. Medical assistants must be dedicated to high standards of performance, which can be accomplished by showing a desire to acquire information and by constantly updating their knowledge and skills. Keeping abreast of the latest diseases, treatments, procedures, and techniques can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as college courses, seminars, workshops, reading, and simply by being observant. The sharper the power of observation, the more the medical assistant will learn from physician, employer, and coworkers.

Medical Assistance

2009-11-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Medical assistance are usually employed in personal clinic, hospital, and doctors' office. Usually, medical assistant hired by minor offices will perform several different duties including filing, keeping records, and sometimes answer the phone calls. Bigger hospitals frequently exploit the skill of a medical assistants through actual medicinal procedures. In various places patients meet up with a medical assistant before meeting a physician. Through an early meeting, it is duty of the assistant to ponder, gauge, and record the patient’s medical and technical information. Additionally, an assistant might manage injection, bandages, answer the crucial checkup questions, carry out easy tests, and take x rays.

Medical assistance requires the basic education though lots of aspects of this position is learned during work, employer are inclined to pick candidates who do have some formal training in his field. A variety of professional institutes present a medical assistant degree and applicants with such nature of degree frequently get the finest opportunity at securing a stable and solid job.Professional schools educate wannabe medical assistants fundamental mathematics, anatomy, physiology, medical morals, and useful medical treatments. Students as well study laboratory skills and techniques, and a variety of medical procedures. By completing graduation, qualifications in the medical assistance field is achieved. Apart from learning experience, candidates for medical assistant jobs should have numerous optimistic character traits such as communication and investigative skills.

We have seen on that The American Association of Medical Assistants & American Medical Technologists both propose medical assistance certification by schooling and examinations in relevant field. Whilst a proper certification is not always compulsory in order to be relevant for medical assistance jobs but one should keep in mind that this specialized position does help to advance the candidacy of a person. Job transferring groups, government employing office and high school job placement service will help out future assistants to find employment in their turf. Once the job is acquired, there is always expectations for development in the field. Assistants that demonstrate to be valuable within an office environment are sometimes promoted to the rank of supervisor. And for such persons who go for additional education in the medical assistance will as well get many prospects to go forward for a good position at their place of work.

Medical Assistant School

2009-09-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Medical Assistant Schools

If you are determined to chase medical assistance as your profession after thinking about it a great deal with respect to a variety of aspects, then your next step will be to enroll in a medical assistant school which will supply you with required education. It is really important that you choose one of the best schools because it will allow you to get hold of a rewarding educational certificate.

Tri-State Institute is one of the best medical institutes, which is situated in Birmingham and provides professional training that boosts its learners to enter the fast-track towards achievement. Furthermore, students are also offered many types of training which provide them with best hands-on experience. Another medical assistant school to take in account is “Prima Medical Institute in Chula Vista”. It is a highly regarded institution in the west of United States of America and recognized as one of the most important medical training organization, it presents different types of certificate & associate degree program for its students.

It may be interesting for you to note that it wants awfully strong moral fiber and state of mind before you decide to realize your dream. Also it is same when you try to get admission in a top medical assisting school for the reason that you are going to read and study a great deal. If you are brand new graduate that means that you have just left school then believe me that it will not be too hard for you to continue your studies again. As for those students who have graduated some years back then you will require to work out and start back your reading habit. Divide some time for reading and taking notes everyday, so it’ll become easier for you to get used to the curriculum, coursework, and study atmosphere.

Furthermore, your interest is extremely prominent for getting in a top medical assistant’s school. Qualification is unquestionably a very important aspect n getting a job; some-how it wants your enthusiasm to obligate with your studies. Keep in mind that you will find yourself in anguish when you are only studying on behalf of “medical assistant earns more money”. I must advice you that if you are not harmonious in becoming a medical assistant then it is far better for you to think about other fields. But with adequate groundwork getting into a top medical assistant school is not that difficult as it seems to people.

Contact Us

2009-08-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

For advertising on Medical Assistant Jobs or any other prospects, please mail me at rjowais@gmail.com.

Online Medical Assisting

2009-07-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Like most of the persons in the world today, you are probably trying to figure out a new and exciting career path to get on. It can be overwhelming to make such a big decision, but a career in medical assisting is positively an immense and stimulating choice. Medical assistants perform many important tasks at hospitals and clinics. If you decide to become a medical assistant, you will be surprised with the many options to reach your goal to become a medical assistant.

One popular way to achieve the goal of becoming a medical assistant is through online self-study courses, where you can obtain your certification to becoming a CMA (certified medical assistant). In these self-study CMA courses, you receive the training and knowledge to learn everything about medical assisting and becoming accredited as a CMA. Upon successfully completing one of these courses, you take and pass an accreditation exam, which can also be done online, but are often offered at many testing centers.

Many of the programs for CMA training do require lab work. However, this lab work can be accomplished quite easily and is offered at a multitude of places, so finishing your training as a medical assistant should not be a difficult or cumbersome experience. Another attractive aspect to training in medical assisting is that you can hold down your current, regular job while doing the training. This way, you are still able to support yourself and your family while furthering your career and potential as a CMA trainee.

Programs for becoming a medical assistant vary in price. If you want to be a CMA, first decide what you can afford to spend, and then shop around at some different online courses. Generally, though, medical assisting programs online tend to cost anywhere in a range from $1,000 to $3,000. This money can be earned back quickly once a career as a CMA begins, however, so it is a type of investment in the future.

Now-a-days job market is very competitive and difficult; training to become a medical assistant can be a very good option for many people to give themselves the extra edge needed to embark on a rewarding and exciting career path. With the convenience of online training, certification and exams, training to become a CMA does not have to be a difficult experience. You will not need to put your life or current career on hold in order to train for a medical assisting career; most of it can be accomplished at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home at a small hardship at your end.

Best Job Opportunities For Medical Assistants

2009-07-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

At the end of your educational program you can work as Medical assistant in medical offices. In addition you can also work with local and regional medical centers, clinics, and other health amenities. Just as the management staff of any organization has the responsibilities of running the business, the practice and administrative work depends largely on their medical assistants’ skills and capability. As a Medical assistant it is your duties to train patients, take vital signs, complete records, and carry out all tests according to your skill level and certifications.

On whether or not you need experience to work as a medical assistant, you don’t have to feel inferior like other graduates from medical assistant training programs may. This is because the experience and skills you gained from your previous jobs, related coursework, volunteer work, vocational training and extracurricular activities can just qualify you as experienced in the field. List your experiences in your resume and highlight them in the interview.

To construct your career in medical assisting, you need to be certified. As a graduate, you are expected to take the Examination that certifies Medical Assistants, which is conducted by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants. The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program accredited the program as well as the American Association of Medical Assistants' Endowment. This will be a sure way to kick start a successful career in Medical assisting :)

Job Placement Of A Medical Assistant

2009-07-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

A majority of schools have some kind of job placement support but fresh graduates are bright enough to find work on their own. It is always a good idea to converse with a medical employment agency which can exploit their wide-ranging social network to locate a well paying job for you. Due to exceedingly high demand, the job placement success rate is fairly higher then many other professions.

A medical assistant can earn between $25,000 and $36,000 thousand annually depending upon precise training, and locality. The opportunities to relocate to other health care fields are always good for medical assistant. The kind people interested in Medical Assisting varies but it is certainly a field of work that is in high demand, as well as rewarding. The health care field is growing by leaps and bounds creating openings for many types of health care professionals.

Being a Medical Assistant is a career to look forward to, a career to be proud of. Over the years the field has grown and as the demand increases so will the requirements, now is a ground floor opportunity to gain a wonderful career. The requirement goals are reachable for any socioeconomic bracket, and the pay is an opportunity to support any future goal you might decide upon. Being a Medical Assistant is a career to look forward to, and definitely career to be proud of.

Medical Assistants are proficient to get a fast start in the health-care field. Those people that may be a little uncertain what potential direction they would want to see their career go, medical assisting will be an chance to gain field experience without spending an great quantity of time and money on their training. It is a chance to be a fundamental part of a medical facility, learn and practice a number of various skills, and to make a difference in the lives of others each day.

Demand Of Medical Assistants

2009-07-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

Medical assistants are in towering demand due to a swiftly expanding health care business.
Medical profession is predictable to be one of the fastest growing careers in the coming decade. The majority of the medical assistants are hired directly by the physicians whereas the rest, approximately 30 percent, either work in the hospitals or assist various other health practitioners. In 2005, United States employed nearly 408,000 medical assistants. The job growth is set to increase by 36%, in the next nine years, converting into another 150,000 new jobs!

While working under a physician, many medical assistants could easily acquaint themselves with the basic techniques. It is not a preferred method, anymore. Now, most physicians prefer medical assistants with at least a high school certificate and preferably a specialized diploma or an associate degree. Serious candidates always get at least a one year diploma or a specialized course. Few even acquire an associate degree, lasting two years. While there is no pre-requisite to gain entry into any of these programs, certain advanced short courses may require licensing. These specialized courses include specific knowledge regarding eye care, cast making and surgery assistance.

Training is provided by vocational technical high schools, vocational post secondary institutes and to a lesser extent by community colleges. The two well recognized accrediting health bodies are The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). According to a recent survey, there are more than 400 institutions in USA who are officially evaluated by these two organizations.
Candidates with initial high school studies in Biology, math, bookkeeping, typing, computers and clerical skills may find it easier to navigate the medical assistant course structure.

The two distinct types of subjects taught pertain to medical issues and clerical work. Medical courses shed light on courses such as first aid procedures, human anatomy, medical terminology, medical laws and physiology, while administrative education involves record keeping, patient relations, medicinal subscription and basic accounting. A graduate of these courses may also be trained in procedures such as taking blood, giving medications, performing X-rays, conducting laboratory tests and assisting physicians with physical checkups.

The above post show the vital demand of medical assistants throughout the country!

Medical Assistant : What is that?

2009-07-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

Description of a Medical Assistant:

The medical assistant is a magnificent addition to a medical office and adds real worth to any doctor's practice. Medical assisting, as a profession, has been around since the 1960s. It is one among the many linked health professions in which a person can develop and be a pompous contributor to their community.

Work of a Medical Assistant:
Medical assisting is a first-rate occupation for people of all ages, and from all walks in life. Scores of people have chosen medical assisting as their lifelong career path and are very successful at it, regardless of gender, and age. While all responsibilities of running the practice as a business rests squarely on the doctor, and office management, the medical office's work flow and reputation depends largely on the skills and competence of their medical assisting staff.

Duties of a Medical Assistant:
Medical assistants commonly work in medical offices and health care practices as part of a varied, well-organized health care team. They are also eagerly hired by local and regional medical centers, walk-in clinics, and ambulatory wellness clinics. They are expected to interact with the public, and various health care professionals, and staff.

Medical assistants are expected to:

• Comply with HIPAA, CLIA, OSHA, AND JCAHO laws and regulations.
• React calmly and effectively in emergency situations.
• Add the friendly smile and caring touch to a doctor visit.

Medical assistants complete patient's medical records, take their vital signs, educate them on methods to improve their health and show them how to take their medications. If ordered by the doctor, they will also draw blood, and perform ancillary in-house tests in accordance with their training, skill level, and state regulations.

What are Medical Assistant Not?

Medical assistants should not be confused with non-physician licensed healthcare practitioners! Although they have the comparable abbreviated credentials they are different occupations with different educational requirements and functions.
Moreover, medical assistants are NOT CNAs, and will not work in nursing homes, or in the home health care industry, because there isn't always a doctor present, which is required by law.

Overview of the job of Medical Assistants

2009-07-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

A Medical Assistant (MA) or Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) assists doctors, nurses and physicians with a variety of administrative and medical tasks. Medical assisting is one of many allied health careers. Most medical assistants work in a doctor's office, and some work in hospitals. There are many different types of medical assistant jobs available which makes it a versatile career choice.

Required Education for M-A:

There are two types of educational programs available to aspiring medical assistants. Some schools offer a one-year certificate, or you may complete a two-year associate’s degree from an accredited school. The coursework for medical assistants will include medical terminology, math and science, first aid, medical billing, and more.

Certification for M-As:

After completing the program, MA’s can sign up to take the certification exam to become a CMA. The course is offered three times per year by the American Association of Medical Assistants. The certification must be renewed every five years. Some employers do not require the certification, but CMA’s will typically have more job options than MA’s.

Duties and Responsibilities Of A Medical Assistant:

Medical Assistants help with a variety of tasks including checking patients in, taking vital signs, and medical record-keeping such as updating and filing charts. Medical Assistants also may give shots, and some help with medical billing and insurance coding.

Best FIVE Medical Assistant Schools!

2009-07-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

We all know that the pathway to becoming a medical assistant is becoming brighter and brighter these days due to the high demand of the position. Having said that, the best assistants in this field would be those who've gained a certificate and accredit training which has proven effective by the way they carry out their work and task. There are two ways to study this course which is by the usual day to day campus course or you could take advantage and enroll into an online course.

Among the many teaching institutes that are accredited and have got good programs are:-

Keiser University- It's an online campus which practices a "students first" philosophy and they ensure that their programs revolve around the needs of their students. Their flexible hours and course provides a 24/7 online support portal that helps students with their work. They have also got an extensive source of revision to aid the students as well.
Tri-State Institute is located in Birmingham, London. This institution provide effective career training that helps put our graduates on the fast track to success. In addition, they provide training and hands-on experience to become qualified professionals, ready to apply for exciting entry-level jobs.
Pima Medical Institute placed in Chula Vista is a leading medical career training institutions in the western United States, offering a wide variety of certificate and associate degree programs at nine convenient campus locations. Having been accredited by the Bureau of Health Education Schools, Pima Medical has been graduating students since 1983.
Empire College- This is a medical teaching school with an incredible reputation more known for its excellent guide in bringing students the best education and value for money too. For those who qualify, a financial aid program is also available so that students don't miss out on the opportunity to learn and further their education.
San Joaquin Valley College is also an online institute which is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Go to their online websites and get as much information as possible so that you get a wider choices to get admission in a good institution.

Thanks for your time.
David!

Golden Points for Excellence in Medical Assistant Training!

2009-07-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to share some golden points to consider while going for excellence in Medical Assistant Training.. As we all know that medical assistant training is a great part of certification course as it focuses more on your hands on activity without putting your theoretical knowledge aside. If you are one of them who are in the process of undergoing your training program and have been wondering how to do well, you can stop worrying and wondering as your nonstop questionings will be answered here on this blog!

Firstly, it is an absolute must that you have the passion for the subject or you would be meeting with dead ends. In order to do well in any field of study or activity, you would need that desire and zeal for whatever it is you are doing so that you would be enthusiastic to do your best and strive to hit the sky. So make sure that you're doing this training program because you're interested in it rather than because you were pushed into it or because you didn't know what else to do.

Next, when it comes to practical coursework and assignments always get to it immediately regardless of the deadline given. With this, you would be able to avoid procrastination and would be able to hand in your best work rather than some last minute sloppy work which will keep haunting you since you know that you could have done better. In addition to that, take the effort to do your own research and studies so that you not only understand better but gain more information along the way. Don't only utilize what you've got. Hit the libraries and look up good books or search the internet as it is jam packed with never ending information. As the saying goes, there is never an end to learning.

Furthermore, know this- learning is fun, it's fun to learn. Sounds familiar? It is without a doubt that this is true so when you're going through your medical assistant training, always look at it as a fun and enjoyable activity rather than studying. After all, what you do during your training resembles what you're going to do for the rest of your life with a slight difference that you don't get paid during this round. So try making sure that you have fun during your training and in the same way, you wouldn't think of your later job as a chore but as a good source of income. Always slap a smile on your face and stay cheered even when things fail to go the way you would want it too.

Aside from all that has been mentioned, a good way to excel during your training would be by keeping an open mind. When it comes to hands on task, practical and theoretical work, you may have a bunch of set goals. But then again, you are only human so to avoid much disappointment, always make room for downfalls and failures. Also, remember that these occasional fall outs are part of the learning process, so learn from your mistakes and take home the bigger prize later on when you're making it big in your career.

All in all, medical assistant training is a fun and exciting part of your course so perform well and you would be able to reap the rewards when the time comes. Always be responsible and keep an open mind because you are going to have a good future ahead!

Is Medical Assistant Distance Learning Program Right for You?

2009-07-27T01:28:00.000-07:00

Before you decide enroll to take classes through an online school, check to make sure distance learning is really right for you. Earning a degree online can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. But, distance education is not for everyone. While some people thrive on the independence and freedom offered through such classes, others find themselves regretting their decision and wishing they had enrolled at a traditional school instead. Successful and happy distance learners have a few characteristics in common. Compare yourself to the following list to determine whether or not online classes are a good fit for your personality and habits:

Successful distance learners do just as well, if not better, without people looking over their shoulders.
Successful distance learners never (or at least rarely) procrastinate.
Successful distance learners have good reading comprehension skills
Successful distance learners can resist constant distractions
Successful distance learners feel alright about missing the social elements of traditional schools.

If you're ever feeling discouraged with your distance learning courses, just consider the many ways earning an online degree can enrich your life.

You'll learn new things.
A degree on your resume may lead to a raise or a better job.
You'll have something interesting to say at cocktail parties.
Your list of helpful contacts will grow.
You'll meet interesting people who share your passions.
Your mind will stay sharp and alert.
With all that time online, you're sure to become a better typist.
You'll gain the respect of your colleagues and coworkers.
New books and experiences will come into your life.
You can do all of this while sitting at a computer in your pajamas.

If you like the idea of distance education then St. Augustine Medical Assistant School may be perfect for you!

About 6 out of 10 medical assistants work in offices of physicians. Some medical assistants are trained on the job, but many complete basic training programs in vocational-technical high schools, postsecondary vocational schools, online distance education institutions and community/junior colleges. Medical assistants is projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations over the 2004-14 period. Job prospects should be best for medical assistants with formal training. Many medical assistant schools such as St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants now offer formal training programs for medical assistants online. This program is a convenient and very affordable way to study and become a Medical Assistant.

Medical Assistant Distance Education

2009-07-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Medical Assistant distance education is emerging to meet the demands of a new generation of Medical Assistant students in the twenty first century. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School distance education program for medical assistant presents a good model for this integration of technology with medical assistant education. Distance education, particularly in its most recent form, online education, is being integrated into even the most cautious and conservative of educational institutions. Yet the impact of these alternative forms of teaching and learning on students, faculty, and institutions has yet to be broadly or deeply studied. New models such as that at St. Augustine Medical Assistant School are worth to be mentioned.

Distance education is not new, and can be traced as far back as the first century. The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christian churches, instructing them from a distance (even when he was under 'house arrest' in Rome). This was probably the first type of 'correspondence course', which was the only method of learning at a distance until the advent of the telephone. Today, distance education and in particular online medical assistant instruction calls upon an impressive range of technologies to enable medical assistant instructor and the medical assistant student who are separated by distance to communicate with each other either in real time (synchronous) or delayed time (asynchronous). Currently and asynchronous model used at St. Augustine Medical Assistant School to instruct medical assistant students. This has proven to be a very effective model however the medical assistant program is currently investigating the benefits of synchronous online medical assistant instruction and the benefits it may have for the medical assistant student.

The task of the medical assistant distance educator is therefore to obviate these problems as much as possible by mixing and matching techniques, creating and maintaining a stimulating environment, and offering opportunities for medical assistant students to communicate with each other and with the medical assistant teaching staff on a regular basis. The medical assistant educators will also need to change their traditional role as well. Many remote medical assistant students need a great deal of social support, and medical assistant distance educators may find themselves spending more time offering one-to-one tutorials and less time lecturing. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School at www.MedicalAssistant.us is leading today’s technology in medical assistant education.

When designing medical assistant educational systems and materials for medical assistant distance in delivery the medical assistant teacher must consider not only learning outcomes, but also centered requirements and technical constraints for the medical assistant. Also to be considered are the needs, characteristics, and individual differences of both the students, the teachers and future medical assistants.

Medical assistant distance education for the medical assistant then, should not be viewed as a means of reducing costs, but as an opportunity to raise standards. It is also about providing quality medical assistant learning opportunities for those who, for one reason or another, have previously been excluded from this basic human right. Distance education will quickly become the norm and not the exception for the twenty first century medical assistant.

Thanks for your time.

David.

Average Salary Pay For Medical Assistants

2009-07-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

What is the average salary pay for medical assistants?

According to the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) a medical assistant salary is one of those with the best future prospects as the need for doctor's assistants is set to rise as the population gets older. It is a good time to consider a career in medical assisting just in case you are sitting there wondering what to do.

At this time certified medical assistant salaries are in the US$26,000- $36,000 range which is very competitive compared with jobs in other sectors requiring the same amount of qualification and training, plus it is worth knowing that you will be helping to feel better and to get well. Most medical assistants find jobs right away after training in many setting like hospitals and private practices. There are many choices to choose from in medical assistant jobs. One can choose to be a physician assistant, a medical examiner assistant, or a radiology assistant among many other choices. In short every sector of the medical field has a position for an assistant.

Getting training in recognized medical assisting schools is important. If you are too busy to take time off for school, you can do it online but make sure the school is a recognized one by the educational authorities in your area and the American Association of Medical Assistants. Passing your exams and getting a certification is equally important as it may mean a better position for you and better salaries. Earnings rise with experience. And if you want to reach even higher hen you can consider training for other jobs that pay more than medical assisting like nursing, doctors or even hospital administrator. You can even train to be a medical assistant instructor to train others to become medical assistants.

Of course making a decision to go for a career in the medical field is not all about the money but calls for other attributes as well like compassion for patients and a willingness to help.

Get Online Medical Assistant Degrees!

2009-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

There are many universities in the world that offer an online medical assistant degree. However it is not required that a medical assistant be certified to get a job in the field. However, if you choose to become certified you must complete an accredited education program first. Additionally, a good education increases your chances of finding a good, well-paying job as a medical assistant. Completing an accredited program is the only way to guarantee you are getting value for your education.
It is possible to become a trained medical assistant on the job. However, most medical assistants attend medical assisting school. So in order to be a competitive job candidate, you should consider attending as well. Most medical assisting programs last either one year (for which you will receive a certificate or a diploma) or two years (for which you will receive an associates degree).
Internships are often included in a medical assistant education program. While working in one of these internships you will gain valuable experience in a physician's office, hospital, or other health care facility.
Typically, candidates for admission to medical assisting school must have a high school diploma or equivalent.
There are two organizations that accredit MA programs, so look for these seals when reviewing programs. One is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the other is the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Graduation from a program that is accredited by either of these institutions is an acceptable pre-requisites for both the CMA (AAMA) and RMA (AMT) certification programs.
Receiving an online education can be an efficient, if not the only option for those for those wanting to pursue higher education. Many brick and mortar universities offer online campuses in addition to their regular programs. Also, there are some colleges that offer online degrees only. Additionally, there are some institutions that offer a hybrid of internet classes and physical classes. The following is a list of schools that offer accredited, online, medical assistant programs.
1. University of Pheonix
2. San Joaquin Valley College Online
3. Mountain State University
4. Penn Foster Career School - Healthcare
5. Ashworth University
6. ECPI College of Technology
7. Kaplan University
8. Stratford Career Institute
9. Colorado Technical University
10. Gibbs Schools
11. Missouri College
12. Sanford-Brown College
13. Western School of Health and Business
14. Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences
15. Herzing College Online
16. Independence University
17. Indiana Business College
18. Jones College
19. Lincoln College of Technology
20. Minnesota School of Business
21. New England Institute of Technology
22. Penn Foster Career School
23. Rasmussen College
24. University of Cincinnati
25. Allied College
Things to consider when choosing an online college are:
1. is the school accredited and is the program I am interested in accredited?
2. what are the tuition and fees involved?
3. what is the teacher/student ratio?
4. is there an option for taking a course at a physical campus?
5. is financial aid available?
6. how long does it take to complete the program?
7. what are the reviews from others who have completed the program?
It would be very beneficial to get the answers to all these questions before enrolling in an online medical assistant program.

Find Medical Assistant Job Duties Under Medical Jobs!

2009-07-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers..

The following article will help you in finding your job as medical assistant in a reputed medical center! When looking for a job as a Medical Assistant, it is great to know all of the requirements of the position. A medic Assistant works in a doctor's office, clinic or hospital situation where they perform a variety of administrative duties as well as some clinical duties under the direct supervision of a physician. The administrative duties often include doing such tasks as setting appointments, billing, coding procedures for insurance and keeping patient records up to date. The clinical duties often include taking vital signs, drawing blood, getting the patients ready for the physician's examination, taking medical histories and administering some medications when directed by the physician.
The job of medical assistant requires that the person in the position be very attentive to detail and able to follow through on assigned tasks, with or without direct supervion. The assistant must be very dependable since many people depend on the medical assistant to be present so that the clinic, office or hospital runs smoothly and patients are seen in a timely manner. Self-control, ability to work under stress and a concern for others are vital to the position.
Personal integrity is a must for the medic assistant because they are often working with sensitive information that is confidential by nature. The assistant must have such abilities as being able to communicate well in both written and oral forms. The necessity of being able to write clearly and to understand what is written is invaluable since the medical assistant is often entering, recording, transcribing, storing and maintaining sensitive and vital information in both a written and electronic form.
The medical assistant has to be adaptable, independent and able to take initiative. The assistant has to be able to adapt and be flexible to changes that may occur in the workplace. It will be necessary to be able to develop a personal and unique style of working, often with little or no supervision, and depending only on yourself to get the job completed. A willingness to take on new challenges and responsibilities is a must.
The job of a medi assistant requires that the person has many important work values. They have to be able to form and maintain strong personal relationships so that they will be able to work with others in a friendly environment that is non-competative. The ideal person for this job must be able to be courteous to both clients and other staff, empathetic to the needs of others, compassionate, helpful and energetic.
Since the requirements of the position as medic assistant are many and diverse, they require special education. You must have a high school diploma or GED to get accepted at any of the schools that offer training as a medical assistant. Some states require that you pass a state certification exam following training. Laws differ from state to state as to whether the CMA (certified medical assistant) can draw blood or do the lab tests. In any case, the medi assistant is not the same as a physician's assistant who can diagnose and treat patients.

Thanks for your time..

Get a Medical Assistant Degree With Ease!

2009-07-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!

If the thought of a career in the medical field has crossed your mind but you simply do not have the interest to become a doctor, nurse or surgeon, don't let the idea go because there are other options. Instead of looking for other fields of interest and coming up empty, you should put your foot down, hit the books and let your family and friends know that you're going to become a medical assistant :)

Now, in order to become the best at this career and to excel, you would need to be certified. With an accredited certification, you would not only land yourself with a good and stable job but you would also be able to do well as you would be well equipped with knowledge of hands on activity and familiar with jargons used at the workplace. Imagine trying to bandage a sprained ankle without knowing the right way to do it. You would lose your job within minutes. It isn't hard to earn your medical assistant certification; it just takes a little discipline and a whole lot of dedication.

As this course is pretty diverse, it would be best if you take it up voluntarily with an interest in the field rather than being forced into it. This way, you would have the passion to study and the determination to well too. The easiest way to do this would be by taking advantage of our advanced technology and enrolling into an online institute rather than a day to day class on campus. With this, you can study at your own pace and time and have the comfort of studying from your own home. Also, try building up your experiences by taking on any job opportunity that comes your way. If it doesn't give you the practical experience, you'd gain some soft skills from it.

All in all, learning has no end and when it comes to learning to get a certification or degree, don't study because you have to but study because you want to. Always be enthusiastic and you would see that it can take you far, simply because you would be more dedicated than others.

Pass Your Medical Assistant Training Exams Easily!

2009-07-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hi friends..

Today I will discuss with you some tips on passing your medical assistant exams easily and soundly without any tension! The heart breaking thought of going back to books and classes after high school ends can often be harsh but it depends on how you look at it. So, it could be a misery or it could be a blessing. If you're looking into becoming a medical assistant and want to be sure that you pass your medical assistant training with ease, there are a few guidelines that you should adhere to, to avoid falters along the way.

First, it is important that when pursuing your studies, you bring along with you the passion and desire to excel and do well. This can only be done if you have the love for your subject and ambition. Write down your aim and goal for your studies and stick it up on the wall somewhere you can see every day. This would act as a reminder for you to keep being determined to help you do your best when studying by putting your best foot forward.

Next, avoid all forms of procrastination as it would result in last minute work that would be shabby and way below your personal standards. When given a task or assignment to work on, get started as soon as possible without putting it off. This way, it is without a doubt that you'd would have enough time to explore all the different sources of information and you would be able to put your best effort into work and produce your best work.

Furthermore, know that preparation is the key- the key to everything. So take advantage of your classes and make full use of them. During lectures and study sessions, always be prepared with a pen in hand so that you can effectively take notes to use later on. While undergoing the training program, be sure to have your mind set on being hard working. If you assume that it's alright to slack off once in awhile as you can catch up later, you might find yourself in a pit of regret, so don't try it.

Please keep in mind that it's vital for you to know your stuff so that you can strut it well later on. so study smart, not hard.

Hope you got my point on medical assistant training exams?

Any feedback is more than welcomed! :)

Best Way to Prepare For The Medical Assistant Exams

2009-07-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends..

Consider the following scenario...

Notes, books, past year question papers and revision texts, lecture copies are scattered all over your room. This can only mean one thing; exams are around the corner :)

Medicine has never been an easy course, and even though this isn't the whole big doctor or surgeon thing, preparing for a medical assistant exam is just as nerve wrecking. So, what do you do? Well, the smart thing to do would be to calm down and keep yourself down to earth while preparing for your exam.

You should start off by making sure that you are calm and free from butterflies in your stomach. Do some light exercise and deep breathing, then clear your mind and get a hold of your emotions. In order to study effectively, you need to rid of any negative pre-examination emotion such as anxiety and worry. If you still find yourself extremely anxious, then try going for a long walk or take a drive around the neighborhood. This should help put you at east for awhile.

Next, don't study hard, study smart. Instead of reading straight out of your textbook for hours and hours trying to digest the information, try briefly going through it once then make your own notes and mind maps to help. During classes, pay attention to the lecturer instead of jotting down notes and doodles on the sidelines. Then, as soon as you get back, review what you've gone through in class and start making notes. This way, when it gets closer to your exam, instead of lugging around the huge textbooks and revision books, you could just use your notes. If it helps, make them into flashcards and carry them around in your pockets or bag. With this, you could always go through your notes while waiting for the bus or in a queue.

Read, revise, redo. The best way to make sure that you're well prepared to gain your medical assistant certificate would be to go repeatedly go over your work, dividing your time between subjects or chapters. Once you're done with each section, try doing a couple of questions as it would help strengthen your memory and show you how much you actually know. If you don't have enough questions with you, use the internet and look it up on your search engine.

Aside from all that has been mentioned, in order to make sure that your mind is in perfect functioning order, you would need to keep your physical self in good condition too. Get sufficient rest and don't ignore those eye bags. If you're the kind of person who has adjusted to late nights and simply can't change, make sure you get a continuous 7-8 hours of sleep a day and avoid burning the midnight oil the day before your examination. Also, drink plenty of water and eat your greens. You don't want to be catching the flu anytime near your exam day.

All in all, effective and good studying is easy as long as you put your mind to it. So kick off those jitters and hit the books for the upcoming exam!

I wish you good luck!

Benefits of Being a Medical Assistant In Hospital

2009-07-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

Hi readers..

Today I would like to discuss the benefits of being a medical assistant with you people. There are an innumerable amount of occupations available in today's world, and as they increase in variety for each field, we tend to push away the jobs that we think of as insignificant simply because they play slightly smaller roles than others in that specific field. When it comes to the medical field, it can be said that the position of a medical assistant is often looked down at because we don't really know what BENEFITS you can get from being a medical assistant??

A medical assistant is one who acts as the wing man to doctors in clinics and hospitals by assisting them with paper work at the front desk and general work in the back office along with the basics of medicine such as drawing blood and etc. The benefit of this position is that you're likely to make a good living off it as a certified medical assistant roughly earns about $21,373 per year. There is no doubt that this is indeed a solid and stable career that can take you far.

In addition to that, you would also be guaranteed a good medical and dental plan. As we age, you would see that these little perks are actually a big deal as it saves a lot of money and allows us to frequently visit the doctor to make sure we're in good condition. Also, you would get to indulge in many paid vacations and sick leave because it is important for you to be in good health since you would be working around patients. Hence, you're sick leave would be more lenient in comparison to other careers.

Besides all that has been mentioned, the advantage of taking up this career is the amazing exposure and experience you get along the way. As a medical assistant, you are constantly meeting people of different races, cultures, backgrounds and with different problems. With this, you get the chance to mingle and get to know the many different people that exist within our species. Also, as you interact and get to know many different people, you also pick up working experience which would help secure your position, giving you the chance at better job opportunities later on.

Furthermore, despite this job being one that is challenging it is also one of the noblest things you could do for a living. The altruistic nature of the position puts you in a place to offer advice to patients, helping them cope with whatever physical hardship they may be going through. You would also actively be involved in the ongoing process of patients' care and by channeling your efforts towards improving the patients' health. This can bring you an immense feel of satisfaction and prides knowing that you spend your days helping others have good ones.

All in all, many people would say that a medical assistant is simply the secretary of a medical office and you shouldn't bother putting time and effort into it. But this is wrong. This field of study has got a lot to offer, so if you've got the interest and the opportunity, then grab it without hesitation and go with it.

Hope you like the article..

Career Of A Medical Assistant

2009-07-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

There are many concrete reasons for you in building a career as a medical assistant! Although the medical assistant profession can be very challenging but it also brings many financial and personal satisfactions. Medical assistants have always been considered to be major components of the health care industry, fulfilling a set of vital roles in the medical offices. As a medical assistant, you have the opportunity to offer a very important service to the community, by participating actively in the ongoing process of patients’ care and by channeling your efforts towards improving the patients’ health.

Unlike other professions in the medical field, the medical assistant profession involves a lot of interaction and communication, both with the monitored patients and with other members of the medical staff. Thus, besides being the main healthcare provider for patients, as a medical assistant you also have the opportunity to offer patients a lot of moral support. Due to its eclectic nature and the pronounced level of interaction with people, the medical assistant profession is considered to be a very demanding profession, requiring a wide range of practical and theoretical skills, good decision making abilities, good communication skills and nevertheless, a lot of talent!

Although a career as a medical assistant can be very challenging, it also brings a lot of satisfaction! Apart from the noble and altruistic nature of the profession which allows practitioners to offer an important service to the community, ensuring the well-being of patients, the medical assistant profession is also very lucrative and financially stable. While an inexperienced medical assistant may at first earn an annual $20,000 salary, fully qualified medical assistants may eventually earn more than $40, 000 a year.

Due to the ongoing development and expansion of the healthcare industry, the request for medical assistants is very acute in present and it is expected to further grow in the coming years, thus rendering the medical assistant career stable and secure on professional level. In addition, well-trained medical assistants have very good prospects for promotion in the medical field, being able to qualify for various administrative occupations or become medical technology professionals.

In order to fulfill your dream of becoming a qualified medical assistant, it is very important not to neglect your professional training. Keep in mind that proper medical assistant training is crucial for becoming certified and acquiring important credentials in a short period of time. At first, medical assistant training focuses on familiarizing you with the basics, later helping you to further expand your knowledge and overall practical skills required.

The best thing to do in order to ensure a secure career in the field is to attend a high quality medical assistant training program at a highly recognized medical assistant school. By attending to a good medical assistant school, you will be able to polish your skills as a medical assistant and become a true professional in your branch. The medical assistant training you will receive in a highly recognized medical assistant school will greatly increase your chances of obtaining your desired certifications and accreditations from the first try, allowing you to build the scaffolds of a promising career in no time!

There are various medical assistant schools out there, each of them offering different advantages and disadvantages. The trick to finding the most appropriate medical assistant school for you is to carefully decide upon the level of professional medical assistant training you wish to achieve and to analyze the resources you benefit from; you should know exactly how much time, money and effort you are willing to invest in your medical assistant training long before you start attending to the courses of a certain medical assistant school. For instance, although they may offer similar credentials, some medical assistant schools have the advantage of allowing students to graduate sooner than others.

In order to find out exactly what to expect from a certain kind of medical assistant training offered by a given medical assistant school, it is very important to do a little research before choosing the most appropriate educational program for you. After you have decided upon a medical assistant training program, you should maintain your motivation levels high and work hard to achieve your pre-established goals. While some training programs may be better than others, and some medical assistant schools may be more popular than others, in the end the success of your medical assistant career is direct proportional with your motivation, dedication and not to mention, talent!

I hope you found the article informative!!

Thanks for your time!

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2009-07-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

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Side View Of Medical Assistant Education

2009-07-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks..

The need for medical assistants in health care is one of the fastest growing careers in the world. The demand for medical assistants is expected to increase by 35 percent between now and 2016, which is faster than normal when compared with other careers (Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Handbook, 2008-2009).

Along with being one of the top ten most demanded careers in the health care industry, medical assistants are also one of the top ten careers expected to benefit the most from the president’s economic stimulus plan (MSN Careers, "15 Jobs the Stimulus Plan May Boost", April 15, 2009).
Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. Although they are sometimes confused with physician assistants they do not examine, diagnose, or treat patients. Their duties are primarily administrative in nature.

Duties of medical assistants include updating and filing patients’ medical records, filling out insurance forms, and arranging for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform tasks less specific to medical settings such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, and handling billing and bookkeeping.

So if you are interested in taking medical assistant as a career in future then you must be serious about it! :)