What Are Medical Assistants Allowed to Do?

Medical assistants in the USA are bound by legal and ethical rules, some of which vary from state to state. Important is that all licensed, professional, technical and unlicensed medical office staff in the front and back office must know what a medical assistant is, and does, and what they are allowed, and not allowed do.

Get this FREE  Career Information Kit As you already know, working medical assistants, as well as recent graduates from vocational training programs should seek certification as soon as possible to succeed!

Medical Assistant's Scope of Practice

Tasks the medical assistant is hired to do should be clearly identified and outlined. For example, it should be made clear that the medical assistant cannot make independent medical assessments, triage, prescribe medications, or give any type of medical advice.

Medical assistants, who disregard established professional standards, and attempt to perform procedures, or tasks beyond their training, capabilities, or scope of practice, or act independently without permission, or the presence of a supervising health care provider in the building, are in danger of exposing themselves, patients, and their supervisors to serious consequences that carry far reaching liability issues.

For Example:
Medical assistants are not allowed to make independent medical assessments (triage), or give medical advice at any time under any circumstances. Also many states mandate that anybody performing phlebotomy, ultrasound procedures, EKGs, or X-rays must have a specific license to do so, including medical assistants.

However, medical assistants are allowed to relay y detailed messages and instructions from the doctor to a patient, or skilled nursing facility staff. To protect all involved, and proper tracking, the message should be written out and initialed by the doctor. Then, once the message was given to the intended person, the medical assistant should add his/her initials, the date, and perhaps the name of the person who received the message. This document should then be filed into the patient's chart.

Should new questions about the doctor's message arise during the conversation, the medical assistant should not independently make his/her own recommendations. The message should be annotated and brought back to the doctor to respond.

  What Medical Assistants Can and Cannot Do

 

Delegation of Tasks

The rule of thumb is that a medical assistant may only do tasks that a medical doctor, or other licensed healthcare practitioner, such as an RN, nurse practitioner, or PA has ordered and delegated to her.

Exceptions:
In Alaska: under Alaska Statutes and The Alaska Administrative Code properly trained and certified medical assistants can insert urinary catheters, and start IV tubing, and administer medications as ordered in that IV under the direction of a physician. However, these, or any other patient care tasks CANNOT be delegated by a RN nurse in that state.

As a matter of fact, medical assistants can't do anything supervised by a nurse in Alaska. A medical doctor MUST be present at all times.

• Ultimate Authority in Charge
• Respondeat Superior
  
  When a master acts through the servant to accomplish the master's task, such as the medical assistant carrying out direct patient care under the control of the physician.
• Supervision and Liability
  
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• What Medical Assistants Can and Cannot Do
  
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• So, Can Medical Assistants Be Sued?
  
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• Scope of Practice by State