Tips on how to get your medical assistant to anticipate your needs.
1. Do They Know Their Purpose?
Most assistants do not know what you expect of them. What is the perfect assistant? This could mean different things to different doctors. Have you written out their complete job description? Did you tell them what is needed and what you expect of them?
An example of their purpose:
a. Patients who are seen on time, comfortable, and are ready for treatment.
b. A fully equipped room available for the doctor to get the procedure completed smoothly and in a timely fashion.
c. A complete accurate history and all diagnostic tests performed as well as all DME products laid out prior to treatment, in order to expedite the patient’s care in a proficient manner.
2. Did you provide proper training to the Medical Assistant?
You expect a lot from your medical assistant, but did you provide the proper training. Set aside time to train them. Don’t let them do things before they are completely knowledgeable on that specific task. Make a list of every thing they do or will do and check off that task when they show you their proficiency. Then take your top medical assistant, the one that does it right just about every time, and make them the Medical Assistant Trainer. They will train every new assistant that gets hired. This way, you only need to train one individual.
How long does it take to train an assistant? As long as it takes is the right answer. If they are willing to do the work, they take notes, and show daily improvement, then stick with them. Take time off from patient hours to make them your A-1 assistant. It will be worth it in the end.
Once they are well trained, then start weekly training sessions. You can go over diagnosing and treating different podiatric problems. Make sure you include how they can be of service to you and the patient with each problem.
We at Top Practices are dedicated to giving you more free time while building your dream practice.
Rem/Peter
