Who is in Charge of Medical Assistants?

Although legal requirements vary from state to state, medical assistants work under the license of a supervising physician or licensed healthcare practitioner.

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State Regulations

The authority in charge of the medical assistant is the doctor (or in some cases, licensed healthcare practitioner) under which they work. The doctor, in turn, answers to the State Medical Board. These boards often consist of a number of physicians, licensed health care practitioners, and/or public members, which are appointed by the state governor and confirmed by their legislature.

State Medical Board Regulations

The State Medical Board adopts regulations to carry out the laws governing the practice of medicine. The law says that medical assistants must work under the direct supervision of a doctor, or in some cases, licensed healthcare practitioner, e.g. a licensed nurse practitioner.

Several US states mandate that medical assistants are licensed or certified to perform needle injections; such as for allergy testing, purified protein derivative (PPD) testing, or Mantoux skin tests.

Other states require medical assistants to have special training if their job requires them to expose patients to X-rays. Those with blood drawing responsibilities in California, and those who perform point of care testing in Georgia, are also required to be certified. Some states won't allow medical assistants to administer medications, or injections.

AMA List of State Medical Boards

*Since regulations differ from state to state. If unsure, medical assistants can contact the national medical assistant certification bodies, or your state's Board of Medical Examiners, sometimes called Board of Licensure in Medicine, who should be able to help.