Medical Assistant - Primary Care, Cambridge

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives.

The Medical Assistant provides high quality, direct patient care in a team-based model to our BILH Primary Care-Mt. Auburn patients and supports smooth and efficient administrative and clinical practice operations. The Medical Assistant has the ability to work with people from different backgrounds and respects the beliefs of all patients and team members. Reports to the Practice Manager.

Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities including but not limited to:
1.    Through relationship development and care team coordination, contributes to the BILH Primary Care-Mt. Auburnpatient, practice, and organizational goals. Develops long term empathetic relationships with patients, families and colleagues to contribute to patient care.

2.    Assists patient over the course of their visit: facilitates timely flow and informs patient and provider of any delay in a timely manner, engages with patient on visit reason, updates medication and allergy lists, reviews screening questions (i.e. PHQ-9), acts as liaison between patient and practice staff to ensure optimal flow and service delivery.

3.    Communicates clearly with patient and team: provides hand-off to provider entering the exam room (e.g., reason for the visit, abnormal vitals, patient stories).

4.    Performs medical assisting duties under proper supervision, which may include, but are not limited to: obtaining accurate vital signs, height, and weight measurements, performing EKGs, point of care testing, phlebotomy, administering immunizations (certified MAs only), and assisting during routine procedures.

5.    Essential to Population Health efforts by leading conversations to meet quality and population health goals through outreach and health coaching. Monitors practice activity, both electronically and in person. Identifies, addresses, and conducts outreach to patients with health maintenance or chronic disease management needs. Assists with related data gathering and basic health coaching.

6.    Monitors, orders, and/or maintains medical equipment and supplies, ensuring they are clean, sterilized, stocked, and within expiration dates. Adheres to control standards. Maintains an unobstructed area for patient access.

7.    Works within the electronic health record system (EHR) to queue prescription renewals and add new medications for review by a licensed provider. As directed by a clinician, enters/scribes orders for tests, services, or appointments in the EHR. Accurately documents tasks performed during the visit as they are completed to ensure proper billing.

8.    Schedules related diagnostic and lab tests making every reasonable effort to accommodate patient and provider needs. Verifies patient insurance, including prior authorizations, referrals and pre-certifications.

9.    Identifies OSHA compliance issues. Ensures patient safety practices to prevent/eliminate risk of patient harm. Promptly reports adverse patient events and near misses. Ensures that Patient Health Information(PHI) is only used for purposes of patient TPO (treatment, payment, and operations). (essential)

Required Qualifications:
1.    High School diploma or GED required. Bachelor's degree in Health Science preferred.
2.    License Medical Assistant Certificate preferred., or Registration Certified Nursing Assistant preferred., or Certificate 1 EMT Basic License preferred., or Certificate 2 Phlebotomy Certificate preferred.
3.    0-1 years related work experience required.
4.    Demonstrated Medical Assistant (MA) competencies within one year of hire.
5.    Basic familiarity with computers. Ability to navigate at a basic level within web-based applications.

Preferred Qualifications:
1.    Certified Medical Assistant

Competencies:
1.    Decision Making: Ability to make decisions that are based on specific instructions, standard practices and established procedures which generally require little or no supervision.

2.    Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are routine, somewhat repetitive and generally solved by following clear directions and procedures and by identifying opportunities for process improvements.

3.    Independence of Action: Ability to follow general instructions and procedures as provided. Work is monitored by supervisor/manager.

4.    Written Communications: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.

5.    Oral Communications: Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families and external customers.

6.    Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.

7.    Team Work: Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.

8.    Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Age based Competencies: Employees in this job must be competent to provide patient care to the following age groups: Neonatal:Birth to 6 months, Youth: 6 months to 16 years, Young adult: 16-30 years, Middle Age: 30 - 60 years, Elderly: 60 - over.

Social/Environmental Requirements:
1.    Work requires close attention to task for work to be accurately completed. Intermittent breaks during the work day do not compromise the work.

2.    Work routine is fairly consistent, but employee needs to be able to use judgment to respond to events several times a week.

3.    Potential exposure to adverse environmental conditions

o    Daily:  Protective equipment required(Respirator,earplugs,mask,gloves,eyewear etc), Potential exposure to infectious diseases and/or airborne pathogens, Potential exposure to infectious diseases and/or bloodborne pathogens.

4.    Health Care Status:  HCW1: Regular, day-to-day contact; both face-to-face and hands-on (having close contact within three feet for at least five minutes). Examples: physicians, clinical nurses, phlebotomist, medical assistants, PFT tech, and x-ray tech.- Health Care Worker Status may vary by department

Sensory Requirements:
Close work (paperwork, visual examination), Color vision/perception, Visual clarity <3 feet, Hot/Cold, Sharp/Dull, Smell, Conversation, Monitoring Equipment, Telephone, Background Noise.

Physical Requirements:
Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and or up to 20 pounds of force frequently. Job is physical in nature and employee needs to stand and/or move around through the majority of their shift.
This job requires frequent sitting, walking, standing, bending neck, bending waist, twisting neck, twisting waist, Power Grasping using both hands, Fine Manipulation using both hands, Pushing/Pulling using both hands, Keyboard use, Reaching-below shoulder height, Lifting and carrying items weighing up to 10 lbs.There may be occasional Reaching-above shoulder height, Pushing items weighing up to 10 lbs, Pushing items weighing up to 25 lbs.Rarely there may be Lifting and carrying items weighing up to 25 lbs, Lifting and carrying items weighing up to 50 lbs, Pushing items weighing up to 50 lbs, Push a wheelchair or wheeled bed containing a patient weighing up to 250 pounds, with assistance.

Pay Range:

$21.00 - $28.26

The pay range listed for this position is the base hourly wage range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law.  Compensation may exceed the base hourly rate depending on shift differentials, call pay, premium pay, overtime pay, and other additional pay practices, as applicable to the position and in accordance with the law.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) as a condition of employment.

More than 35,000 people working together. Nurses, doctors, technicians, therapists, researchers, teachers and more, making a difference in patients' lives. Your skill and compassion can make us even stronger.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled