Medical assistance is one of the fastest growing careers in the nation, and there are three primary contributing factors to this: the growing senior population, electronic medical records, and remote medical care.
 
The Initial Role of Medical Assistants
 
Initially, most medical assistance jobs were found at inpatient clinics, private practices, and group medical practices. The medical assistant is often the first face a patient sees before their appointment, and MAs are often mistaken for nurses. MAs take vitals, gather the patient’s medical history, collect laboratory specimens, and provide the doctor with invaluable insight prior to seeing patients. Depending on a patient’s needs, such as coming in for an injection, patients only interact with the medical assistant.
 
The Role of Medical Assistants Today
 
While the job description for medical assistance is still the same as it always has been, there are now far more job opportunities for medical assistants. MAs still have a physician they work with directly, but the job opportunities over the last few years have changed dramatically.
 
Electronic Medical Records—There have been major changes in both coding and patient record-keeping, and physicians rely on their MAs to make sure their records are up-to-date.
 
Remote Healthcare—Whether speaking of offsite clinics or house calls, MAs are required to perform EKGs, PFTs, injections, phlebotomy, vital signs, and much more. Sometimes they report their finding back to the physician later, and other times, MAs are the go-to between the patient and a physician working via video or phone.
 
The role of MAs for remote healthcare, pharmacy-run health clinics, outpatient care facilities, mobile health units, and telemedicine is expected to continually grow.
 
Medical Assistants for Seniors
 
When speaking of senior care, many seniors choose to stay at home as long as possible, meaning that weekly or periodic visits from a MA may be part of their care plan. MAs travel solo or accompany physicians who do home visits. They may also visit seniors in retirement communities or nursing homes.
 
Medical assistants play a vital role in improving quality of care, and access to care—particularly for seniors looking for more convenient ways to access and monitor their ongoing healthcare needs.