Medical Assistant

Overview

The Reproductive Health Assistant (RHA) is an essential part of the healthcare team providing comprehensive health education and direct patient care, demonstrating a positive, cooperative manner, and a willingness to assist team members when needed. RHA’s perform high-quality, responsive, and efficient patient care delivery in a clean, safe and comfortable health center. The RHA has significant impact on the patient experience and is expected to view services through the patient’s eyes to serve patients promptly, completely and in a friendly manner. Understands and complies with organization and health center protocols, policies and procedures. In addition, follows organization risk management and safety procedures. Supports the organization’s strategic plan and workplace inclusion initiatives. Ensures productivity expectations, customer service, and compliance standards are maintained. Abides by the organization’s mission in performing job duties. Demonstrates an understanding and commitment to PPGT’s culture of quality, safety and risk awareness.

Responsibilities

• Performs a variety of responsibilities in direct patient care including but not limited to: greeting patients promptly and in a welcoming manner, providing high quality care, interviews patients and obtain medical history information, provides education to patients regarding the purpose of their visit, performs patient check-in and check-out, accurately updates patient charts, confirms that all medication, equipment and supplies are stocked in health center including sterile instruments, assists with patient discharge instructions.
• Practices a patient-focused approach to healthcare as demonstrated by interactions showing respect, knowledge, responsibility, compassion, and access to care.
• Provides comprehensive education, accurate information and answers questions objectively about medical services offered at the affiliate including but not limited to, birth control, sexually transmitted infections, gender affirming care and pregnancy in a caring, non-biased, non-judgmental and non-directive manner.
• Provides pregnancy options counseling in a comprehensive, non-directive, and non-coercive manner. Ensures that a patient having a pregnancy test is educated on all options.
• Provides and explains Patient Education Sheets, and Informed Consent Forms to patients to ensure understanding of materials and services and ensures that patients with limited English proficiency receive information in the language which they best understand.
• Maintains medical supplies inventory including inventorying stock, placing orders, and verifying receipt.
• Accurately takes and records patients’ demographic information, vital signs, and medical history. Obtains a medical history by asking patients questions about their medical conditions, medications and allergies. Records any findings into the patient charts and alerts the physician and/or clinician of the results.
• Performs blood draws (venipuncture) and intramuscular (IM) injections.
• May train less experienced Heath Center team members in job functions/duties/protocols.
• Maintains safe, secure, and healthy work environment by establishing and following standards and procedures and complying with legal regulations.
• Verifies and completes requests for medical records per policy.
• Maintains equipment operating by following operating instructions, troubleshooting breakdowns, performing preventive maintenance, and initiating repair requests.
• Reviews consent form with patient and obtains informed consent for services, and procedures. Obtains informed consent from patients prior to the delivery of services per organization protocols.
• Supports the clinician by performing lab testing and vital signs appropriate to the patient and notifying the clinician of special concerns pertinent to the visit.
• Reviews test results with patients and when appropriate, educates patients with abnormal results regarding the nature of the problem, method and treatments prescribed, and instructions and information about proper follow-up, including referral to appropriate medical, financial, and social service resources when necessary.
• Consistently utilizes an empathic approach to patient care delivery.
• Provides compassionate care to patients using a holistic approach ensuring that patients’ physical, mental, social and emotional needs are addressed.
• Provides contraceptive supplies, prescribed medications, and intramuscular injections as ordered by the clinician per health center protocols. Provides specific instructions on each patient’s selected birth control method.
• Triage phone calls to clinicians as appropriate.
• Reviews electronic practice management (EPM) and electronic health records (EHR) systems for any alerts for outstanding follow-up needs and advise patients of their follow-up status or discuss the clinician’s recommendations with the patient at each visit.
• Maintains an awareness of clinic flow and visit cycle times and contributes to the efficient delivery of care by working with a sense of urgency to respect the time of patients and increase access to services.
• Maintains discretion and patient confidentiality at all times, using appropriate guidelines on release of information.
• Contributes to a culture of continuous quality improvement by reporting incidents timely and completing incident reports.
• Understands and complies with regulations from all governing entities and health center protocols including but not limited to Patient Rights, Child Abuse identification and reporting, infection control, laboratory protocols, emergency evacuation, risk management, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standards.
• Performs the following front office duties as assigned:
o Greets and directs guests appropriately and in a courteous manner that projects a positive image of PPGT.
o Receives and directs phone calls, schedule appointments, check-in patients, obtain necessary patient information to file and update patient records, and ensure all forms and consents are completed by patients
o Supports the check in or check out areas.
o Places reminder phone calls for scheduled appointments.
o Visually inspects visitors/patients and packages entering and leaving the health center.
o Observes security cameras and grounds, secures building at end of shift.
o Completes daily health center closing procedures such as preparing deposits and balances cash drawer. Strictly adheres to revenue handling policies.
o Reviews method of payment and obtains insurance information as applicable.
• Maintains laboratory, sterilization, temperature and cleaning logs.
• Handles lab specimens per organization protocols and performs laboratory testing as required by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) when ordered by the clinician.
• Sets-up and cleans laboratory area and exam rooms including maintaining a clean, neat arrangement; collecting and washing instruments; properly disposing of all trash; maintaining medical supplies and equipment in examination and laboratory areas.
• Attends and participates in health center staff meetings and huddles.
• Completes employee training for handling of situations involving conduct that endangers the welfare of minors, including mandatory reporting requirements.
• Accepts individual and joint responsibility for, and the efforts to achieve health center annual goals regarding number of patients served, patient waiting time, appointment show rate, accuracy in the execution and recording of patient payments, customer satisfaction etc.
• Has unrestricted access to patient protected health information (PHI) on paper and electronic forms health records for purposes of treatment, payment, and/or healthcare operations. The use of a patient’s protected health information should be limited to information needed for the specific task that is being performed or requested by the individual patient. Disclosure of any patient information must be for purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operation OR must be accompanied by a valid patient authorization. Must adhere to minimum necessary rule.
• Embraces the organization’s ‘In This Together customer service standards and uses them with internal and external customers, every person, every time.
• Duties and responsibilities may be added, deleted or changed at any time at the discretion of management, formally or informally, either verbally or in writing.

Qualifications

• H/S Diploma or equivalent and 1 year of experience in any of the following: customer service, healthcare or social services environment; an advanced degree may be substituted for up to 1 year of experience (e.g. Associates/ Bachelor’s/Master’s). When education is substituted for experience, a minimum of 1 year of customer service experience is required.
• Preferred: Medical Assistant or Certified Nurse Assistant or Phlebotomy or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certificate, national certification or diploma from a fully accredited medical assistant educational program as identified in the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs may be substituted for up to 6 months of experience. Preferred: Electronic Practice Management system or Electronic Health Records system experience (EPM/EHR).

Agency Standards

Must have excellent computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Internet. Must have the willingness and ability to adapt to change including advances or new technology. Must have excellent customer service skills and be committed to providing the highest level of customer satisfaction. 

Other

PPGT is an equal opportunity employer.  We strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination of any kind, including discrimination on the basis of age; race, color, ancestry, national origin, or ethnicity; citizenship status; sex or gender; gender identity or gender expression or transgender status (including the individual's actual or perceived sex and the individual's gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression); sexual orientation (including actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality and asexuality); mental or physical disability; AIDS, AIDS Related Complex, or HIV status; perception of risk of HIV infection; or association with individuals who are believed to be at risk; religion or creed; genetic information; pregnancy status, including related medical conditions; marital status; past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services; or any other basis protected by law.  We are a drug-free and tobacco-free workplace.

Applicants have rights under the Federal Employment Laws. To view these notices, please click on the following links: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) poster; and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) poster.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Must be able to work all health center hours of operation including evenings and weekends.
• Must be able to travel and support other health center locations as required.
• Fluency in Spanish/English may be required (if a job requirement it is documented in your employee records).
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task.
• Ability to exercise initiative, sound judgment, and problem-solving techniques in the decision-making process.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to the diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred language, health literacy and other communication needs.
• Ability to work effectively as a team member.
• Ability to manage details, handle a variety of tasks simultaneously and work under pressure.
• Ability to effectively use organization’s computer systems.
• Be discreet and safeguard confidential information.
• Possess integrity and compliance – can be relied upon to act ethically.
• Organizational Commitment: Demonstrates an ability and willingness to align one’s own behavior with the needs, priorities and goals of the organization.
• Recovery Skills: Responds effectively and acknowledges responsibilities when patients (internal or external) experience problems or mistakes; rectifies the situation to restore patient satisfaction; seeks information and collaborates with others to take action to implement permanent fixes. Maintains stable performance and emotions when faced with opposition, pressure, and or stressful conditions.
• Building Relationships: Shows genuine interest in others’ needs and opinions; establishes rapport; earns the confidence and trust of others; demonstrates consistency between words and actions; delivers on commitments.
• Adaptability or Flexibility: Responds with flexibility to shifting priorities and changing work situations; recovers quickly from problems and setbacks; develops new skills to remain competitive. Adapts easily to change, sees the merits of differing positions, and adapts own positions and strategies in response to new information or changes to a situation.
• Coping with Demands of the Position: Uses effective problem solving while working under stress, high volume of work demands and/or time demands; regularly meets deadlines.
• Exemplify the organization’s In This Together values: We Tend to the Team; We Respect and Honor All People; We Jump In; We Try and We Learn; We Care for our Business; and We Return to our Mission.

Essential Physical Requirements/Working Conditions

Must be able to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, and grasp. Must be able to stand, particularly for sustained periods of time. Must be able to move about on foot to accomplish tasks, such as moving from one work site to another. Must be able to push/pull. Must be able to work primarily with fingers such as picking, pinching, or typing. Must be able to talk such as convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately. Must be able to hear such as the ability to receive detailed communication orally. Must be able to communicate effectively. Will have substantial movements of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Subject to hazards including a variety of physical conditions such as proximity to moving mechanical parts, moving vehicles, electrical current, or exposure to infectious diseases. Must be able to lift and/or exert up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently. Must be able to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects. Health Center environment.