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Clinical duties of physician assistant optimized with virtual assistants
Physician assistants play a vital role in the healthcare system. Certified clinical assistant interacts with patients the most, so it is essential for them to be fully vaccinated for their protection and have good interpersonal skills. This means that they need to be able to build rapport while dealing with related psychosocial issues that may arise. In addition, they need to be able to put them at ease and make them feel comfortable. This is especially important for procedures that might be painful or uncomfortable.
Preparing to administer medications
Having a virtual assistant in your practice can help relieve stress on your in-house staff since they no longer have to worry about collecting patient information, updating electronic medical records, scheduling patient appointments, ordering supplies, prescription refills, and other administrative tasks are done daily. Instead, your in-house medical virtual assistant can focus on their clinical duties of giving direct patient care, which includes the following:
Taking health history
One of the most essential duties of a physician assistant is to take the patient’s history. This involves gathering information about the patient’s condition and any medications they are taking. In addition, they will need to ask questions about their symptoms and when they started happening. They will also need information about the patient’s family health history and previous health conditions. This information is essential in helping the physician diagnose and treat the patient’s condition.
A virtual scribe can gather patient medical history
Physician assistants typically work with one patient at a time for optimal care, and this task can be delegated to a virtual medical assistant who is trained to schedule appointments and has the knowledge and experience to gather health history.
After taking the patient’s history, the physician assistant will perform a physical examination. This will help them to rule out any possible causes of the symptoms. They will also look for any signs of infection or disease. The physical examination will also help the physician assistant determine the type of treatment the patient needs.
Virtual Scribe can lessen the workload of the physician assistant by handling the documentation during this time. This way, nothing gets left out in the examination or documentation.
Explaining treatment procedures
When you go to the doctor, they might need to do some tests. Their assistant’s work is to explain what they will be doing and why. This includes taking vital signs, drawing blood, and doing lab work. They also need to be able to answer any questions that the patient might have and follow up with any pending medical records.
Aside from scheduling appointments, you may want to delegate this task to your virtual assistant. Patients may also call in about their treatment procedures and scheduling appointments which makes having a virtual assistant to support your practice beneficial, especially when you and your in-house assistant are faced with a full waiting room.
Imagine directing your patient to your virtual assistant while you see another client. This allows your practice to handle more people at one point in time, thus efficiently delivering your services to more individuals needing your specialty.
Preparing for examinations
A physician assistant’s work is to ensure that patients have the necessary information and instructions to make their visit as smooth and productive as possible. They may also be responsible for escorting patients to exam rooms, obtaining vital signs, and assisting the physician with the examinations.
Assisting the physician during examinations
Physician assistant jobs may include taking blood pressure, recording vital signs, administering injections, extracting blood samples, and performing basic lab tests. These cannot be done remotely and would take a lot of the assistant’s time and effort, especially when they have a lot of people coming in for the day. A virtual assistant ensuring that everything is recorded and updated in their systems enables them to finish their jobs faster and makes them more focused, resulting in fewer errors.
Another important responsibility is to keep the examination rooms clean and organized, which can be difficult when you have a lot to deal with aside from this task. Therefore, you may hire a regular assistant just for the place’s upkeep rather than placing all these tasks on your clinic assistant.
Clinic staff also stock supplies and ensure all necessary equipment is ready and available. This could mean sterilizing or disinfecting equipment routinely, depending on the kind and size of the practice. A more comprehensive approach means needing more virtual and in-house staff to ensure that the office runs as smoothly as possible. For example, having virtual assistants keep track of your to-do lists could ensure that nothing gets left out or overlooked at any point in time, regardless of how busy your practice gets.
Collecting and preparing laboratory specimens
Physician assistants must be able to properly collect the specimens and then prepare them for testing. This can include making sure the model is appropriately labeled and packaged. It is also essential to ensure that all the required paperwork is included with the specimen.
A virtual health care assistant may be responsible for preparing specimens for many different types of laboratory tests. These can include blood tests, urine tests, and swab tests. Each test requires a specific process for specimen collection and preparation.
Anyone who has worked in a healthcare setting would know the procedures needed to ensure that errors are avoided as much as possible, which only means more paper trail. Having a virtual assistant oversee everything in order concerning paperwork and insurance claims frees up your in-house staff to just focus on handling and correctly labeling the specimens and results.
I'm very thankful for Portiva who I know is looking after my practice while I'm gone the virtual assistants can manage prescription refills, documents they can triage patients and just kind of answer administrative questions and they can handle a lot on their own. But also, they're very good about contacting me if there's any emergency or anything I need to attend to. So I'm very thankful for Portiva they can help almost any provider almost anywhere and it really allows for some good work-life balance as I'm getting to experience right now at my family farm so I'm very thankful for Portiva and I'm very happy to use their services"
Board Certified Family Medicine Physician
Portiva's Virtual Medical Assistant - I have all the support I need. There's somebody checking my email, any patient messages. Patients are still able to schedule and handle any scheduling issues and any kind of billing that needs to still go through. Portiva hands handles it all for me. I have support i have somebody that I can access 24/7 pretty much. It's all very seamless. If somebody has an emergency or needs a medication called in. I know that the va's at portiva will handle that for me.
Board Certified Family Medicine Physician
Physician assistant handling laboratory specimens
Performing basic laboratory tests
One of the physician assistant job descriptions may include performing basic laboratory tests. These tests can help doctors diagnose and treat the patient efficiently in real-time. They must be able to use the needed equipment appropriately and understand test results concerning their health histories.
What would be better than poring through the microscope or double-checking something and just ranting out the results to a virtual scribe? Then, your printed result will be ready when you take your eyes off the microscope, and you only have to review the written output.
Instructing about medication and special diets
Physician assistant support may include explaining how to take medication, when, and what side effects to watch for. They may also be responsible for helping create and follow a particular diet plan. Therefore, they must communicate effectively to ensure their instructions are understood.
This is another task that may be delegated to a virtual assistant should the office have more census than usual. They can be an excellent resource for providing clear and concise instructions that are easy to follow. Additionally, virtual assistants can be available to answer any questions that clients may have or just listen through any related psychosocial issues that they may have about the visit, the procedure, or the upcoming options laid out to them by the provider. This can help ensure they comply with their medication, diet instructions, and health plan.
Preparing and administering medications, including intramuscular, intradermal, and subcutaneous injections
Some assistants may also be certified pharmacy technicians (CPhT). Certified pharmacy technicians are responsible for filling prescriptions and providing other pharmaceutical services under the supervision of a pharmacist. One does not need to be a CPhT in order to prepare and administer medications to patients unless it is required to advance one’s career. A clinic assistant with a nursing degree is more than capable of performing this job description.
Any documentation that can be accomplished remotely can be delegated to virtual assistants so you need not have more in-house staff than you need. In addition, a virtual team only costs a fraction of what you pay your regular staff, which means more savings for expanding your practice or elevating your specialty to greater heights by maximizing the potential of virtual assistance in your office.
Phlebotomy
Physician assistants specializing in phlebotomy can be an essential part of any practice. They are responsible for drawing blood for various reasons, such as tests or donations. Therefore, phlebotomists must be skilled in venipuncture, drawing blood from a patient’s vein. They must also be knowledgeable about the different equipment and supplies used in this process.
Physician assistants work closely to extract blood samples for testing
Charting everything done for the client can take a toll on many nurses and other practitioners, and this is an area where a virtual scribe may be of assistance. Your staff can have accurate time recording of everything that they are doing, and audio is sent to the scribe who types it out into a written document ready for any healthcare or insurance provider to access at any time.
Taking electrocardiograms
An electrocardiogram is a noninvasive test that does not involve inserting needles or other instruments into the body. It is a painless test that takes only a few minutes to complete. The test results can help doctors diagnose and treat coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias.
A virtual medical assistant job may include having the skill to perform electrocardiograms to measure the heart’s electrical activity. To take an electrocardiogram, assistants use a machine called an electrocardiograph (ECG or EKG). They place sensors on the patient’s chest and limbs. The sensors are connected to the ECG machine by wires. They then turn on the machine and record the tracing on paper.
Your assistant can just forward these results to a virtual receptionist at the end of the day, which would then organize them as part of their member’s electronic health records. In addition, virtual help enables your staff to leave the office after their shift and make time for themselves or their friends and family to create that work/life balance to promote mental health and keep them from burnout.
Eventually, this translates to lower attrition rates which means less time and energy spent on putting up the latest job alert for another position that just opened up. However, sorting through the results of your job alert, interviews, training, and orientation can be a nightmare even with the help of a staffing agency.
Wound care and changing dressings
Assistants for your practice are often responsible for wound care and changing dressings. This can be challenging, but it is also vital to work. A physician assistant skilled in wound care can provide quality care for those recovering from injuries or surgery. In addition, their knowledge of wound care can help to prevent infections and other complications.
Additionally, a physician assistant can educate patients on how to care for their wounds. This can help ensure that patients can heal properly and avoid complications. This part of the task can be delegated to virtual medical assistant services to assist the in-house staff in positioning themselves to help more people with similar needs.
Moreover, by delegating this task, people will not feel like they are just another number on your list to tick off. When people feel valued and cared for, they tend to gravitate toward that feeling with others ensuring growth and more business for your practice.
Previous relevant medical training in wound care
Physician assistants are a vital part of any healthcare setting. They are responsible for various clinical tasks, including preparing and administering medications, drawing blood, taking electrocardiograms, and wound care. Many of these tasks are vital, which makes delegating their administrative duties to medical and dental virtual assistants beneficial for them to focus on direct patient care. This can help to take the pressure off in-house staff and improve the efficiency of your practice.
Delegating tasks to a virtual receptionist can lighten the workload of your in-office staff and allow them to focus on more meaningful work. Virtual assistants are knowledgeable healthcare professionals and can assist with various administrative responsibilities, including answering phones, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance coverage, directing billing processes, submitting and receiving health records, and updating electronic health record systems, among many others. Having a virtual scribe on staff will increase your practice’s efficiency while maximizing your bottom line. If there are specific tasks that you would like an assistant to carry out for you, let us know – our team of experienced experts stands ready to provide assistance!