Revamping Medical Assistant Roles May Boost Physician Productivity

Increasing productivity in a primary care practice without expecting physicians to work even longer hours is an ongoing challenge. 

Some practices have found a solution by training medical assistants to handle more patient care tasks that do not require a physician's direct involvement. Representatives from two such practices discussed their experiences at a recent Brookings Institution webinar, Transforming Practices to Promote Population Health and Improve Workforce Retention.(www.brookings.edu)

An estimated 500,000 medical assistants are employed nationwide. Their scope of practice is defined in only six states, however, and low pay and limited opportunity lead to high turnover.

Sharon Lucie, B.S.N., vice president of operations for the North Shore Physicians Group in Massachusetts, discussed during the webinar how the group enhanced the role of medical assistants to reduce turnover, improve patient care and ease physicians' daily work load across 12 primary care offices. The group estimated that each of its physicians is responsible for seven hours of patient care and 14 hours of administrative work each day.

The transformation required redesigning the medical assistant job. Instead of being responsible only for room preparation and taking vitals, medical assistants were trained to act as patient coaches and process advocates. These changes were part of a larger workflow adjustment needed to meet the increased responsibilities required of medical homes with Level 3 certification.