Anyone not have an MA?

Jules A, MSN · Aug 15, 2018

My opinion and experience regarding ancillary staff and really everything is if the physicians have it I have it. If there are no MAs or nurses depending on the specialty and in the cases of small practices it may require flexibility but again if the physicians are getting assistance so am I.

Trauma Columnist · Aug 15, 2018

When I see office pts the MOA rooms them, takes vitals, etc. Its ludicrous to expect me to see the same number of pts that an MD does and still room my own pts. Now, with that said, I might take a repeat BP myself on a pt who I suspect has white-coat syndrome, or if a pt is c/o being febrile, I might repeat a temp.

However, those situations are rare.

orangepink, NP · Aug 18, 2018

I had to share an MA in my previous workplace with my supervising MD. She would take vitals, room patients, prep chart and help with prior autos and refills. The only thing she didn't do was scribe for me.

My new workplace gave me a temp MA that does all that including scribing but she's SLOW! So I have to help her.

I had a colleague where she had to to take vitals, room in her patient, do prior auth and refills, answer calls and SEE A PATIENT. She saw 20 patients daily.

MikeFNPC, MSN · Aug 18, 2018

My current job, they have tried to have me room once, I said absolutely not. They were feeling out NP's and didn't know how to treat us, now they do. I agree with others who say if the MD has it NP's have it also.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Aug 19, 2018

I have two MAs assigned to me personally. I cannot imagine seeing my patient load with ONE MA, let alone none. No way.

ehcaseyAPRN · Aug 19, 2018

In the practice that I am working at, each provider has their own dedicated MA. They get the patients checked into the room, do and document their vital signs, enter the chief complaint into the computer, and pull lab/diagnostic testing results. They also do lab draws when needed, vaccinations, ear lavages, etc.

We have another staff member who is our referrals expert; she finds out what specialists are on a patient's insurance panel and sets up referrals. She also gets prior authorizations for and coordinates diagnostic imaging.

Yet another staff member handles insurance prior authorization on medications and routine refill requests from the pharmacies.

Our clinical coordinator answers patient calls and helps with whatever people need help with. The front office staff gets patients checked into the office and then checked out and makes their next appointments.

So, on the whole there is one person with whom I work directly who gets to know how I like to have things done and then have 3+ people with whom I work indirectly. This keeps everything running smoothly most of the time.

My previous practice was an entirely different situation. I worked in the office 2-3 days a week and rounded at nursing homes the remainder of the week. Part of the days I was in the office, it was me and the physician for whom I worked directly. We had a receptionist who took care of checking patients in and out and making subsequent appointments. We had 2 office nurses (both were LPNs who were hard-working and thoroughly capable.) They had to room the patients, get their vital signs, identify their chief complaint, and then check them out including any necessary vaccinations, ear lavages, etc. In addition to that, they ALSO had to answer patient phone calls, do prior authorizations on medications, set up referrals, handle refills, and a myriad of other tasks. Needless to say they stayed behind the curve the vast majority of the time. It could be slow getting patients checked in and out, and turning around all the appropriate paperwork and such was a challenge. We did not have a true EHR and did not have electronic prescribing capability. We were a hospital owned & operated facility so used their computer system to document in. It was ill designed for doing office notes and did not have electronic prescribing capability. The MD with whom I worked had to take a leave due to a personal emergency and the hospital did not find a replacement MD and closed it.

Having a well-oiled infrastructure has made a huge difference in the way things flow and how easily things get accomplished. To be honest it is hard to judge whether it is because I DO have my own dedicated MA or is because the rest of the structure is so well coordinated.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Aug 19, 2018

I work in an FQHC primary care clinic. Every provider, whether MD, DO, NP, or PA, has their own dedicated MA. We also have an LVN and an RN in the clinic. We are also piloting virtual scribing using Google glass and if the pilot goes well, providers will have that option. There are also other staff dedicated to referrals, case management, etc. As a result, I seldom have to do "paperwork" other than my own charting. A full patient load is 18 patients per day average. Our EHR is old and cumbersome, but we are getting Epic in the next year. Even so, an efficient provider who charts as they go can be out the door by 5 or 5:30 pm.

Jules A, MSN · Aug 19, 2018

I had a colleague where she had to to take vitals, room in her patient, do prior auth and refills, answer calls and SEE A PATIENT. She saw 20 patients daily.

You mean she chose to? Unfortunate for her and the rest of us also.

missdeevah, NP · Aug 25, 2018

Wow..how did she see that many??

missdeevah, NP · Aug 25, 2018

I had to share an MA in my previous workplace with my supervising MD. She would take vitals, room patients, prep chart and help with prior autos and refills. The only thing she didn't do was scribe for me.
My new workplace gave me a temp MA that does all that including scribing but she's SLOW! So I have to help her.
I had a colleague where she had to to take vitals, room in her patient, do prior auth and refills, answer calls and SEE A PATIENT. She saw 20 patients daily.

How did she manage to see that many without an MA?