Medical assistant are considered unlicensed healthcare personnel and therefore do not have to necessarily carry their own medical malpractice insurance. However, in the current malpractice market even medical assistants are recommended to have malpractice insurance. Despite the fact that Medical assistants’ are typically covered under their employers’ policy and under the Respondeat Superior law guideline.
Typically, employers have a general liability policy that covers employees preforming acts in their job duties. (Fremgen, 2012, p. 149) Additionally, physicians’ can also have a rider on their policy that covers additional negligence of the medical employees who are licensed and unlicensed. However, no medical professional should be preforming tasks that are outside the scope of their training. A study done for the years 2008 to 2012 on laser procedures performed by non-physicians and physicians showed a remarkable increase in lawsuits when the procedures were performed by non-physicians. In fact, only one third of the total procedures were performed by non-physicians but 85.7% of the
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Giving a shot to a patient that was ordered by the physician is perfectly with-in the training of a medical assistant. Now let us say that as the medical assistant as she was giving the shot has patient pass out. The medical assistant had asked the patient if they have a history of passing out with shots and if the patient is feeling all right. The medical assistant continues with asking the patient to please sit down so they can give the shot. The patient insists that they need to stand and tells the medical assistant to give it anyway. The medical assistant proceeds to give the shot and the patient passes out on the fall down they hit their head on the counter. Now the patient is suing the practice naming both the provider and the medical assistant in the
The two of the six rights of medication administration that were violated where the right medication, the right dosage, and the right client. The nurse failed to read the medication order three times before administering the medication, failed to scan for the right count of the medication, and as well failed to match the patient ID with the scanned
In the case of Michael T. Vandall, M.D., Plaintiff and Appellant v. Trinity Hospitals, a corporation, and Margaret C. Nordell, M.D., the issue is about retaliatory discharge. It deals with problems with Trinity Hospital in North Dakota, Dr. Margaret Nordell and Dr. Michael Vandall, both physicians working in the OB-GYN department.
Learning from what Dr. Anna Pou had to face with the lawsuits she was dealing with makes me cringe. As Healthcare professionals, having to worry of possibly being sued for believing what is right for the patient or as a whole for the hospitals health is ridiculous. Healthcare professionals like Dr. Pou, have taken the Hippocratic oath, and one of the promises made within that oath is “first, do no harm”. Often time’s society look at courts cases as a battle versus two oppositions, but Dr. Pou’s case it is not. In her statements from national television she states saying her role was to ‘‘help’’ patients ‘‘through their pain,’’.
Depending on your state’s laws and/or regulations, medical assistants are typically allowed to perform the following clinical services under the supervision of a physician or other healthcare provider, like a physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP):
For example, both administrative and clinical medical assistants have to practice patient confidentiality, respect, sympathy, courtesy, friendliness, as well as helping out in their community and informing their patients. Medical assistants should also be well aware of a patient’s rights that are established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to promote excellent health care services. The patient has many rights, such as the right to medical care- meaning the patient has the right to receive high quality care and treatment but may also deny such treatment, respectful treatment, privacy, confidentiality, identity- a patient has the right to know the name and credibility of their healthcare provider, explanation of care- the patient has the right to be informed of their diagnosis and their treatment, informed consent, and a safe environment. Along with all of this, a medical assistant should have good communication skill, especially if seeking a job as an administrative medical assistant, and be able to work well under stressful situations and with various different people. In other words, a medical assistant needs to have the basics of these characteristics in order to prevail in their work
Nurse A seemed confident and calm while nurse B appeared tired. With the first patients, I noticed that both nurses were asking for first and last name and confirmed the information with the picture in the computer and the medication cup. After a few minutes, I turned my attention to nurse B because I noticed she did not ask a particular patient for his name. Instead, she relied on the name provided by a patient care technician. When she was about to give the medication to the patient, nurse A noticed that the patient on the computer screen was not the patient on the counter. She immediately told nurse B “ That is not Mr… girl ” and nurse B responded while laughing “ He looks exactly like …, I need to get some coffee ASAP”. The patient immediately realized what happened and told nurse B his name. After that, nurse B reached for the right cup and administered the medication to the patient. Even though a medication error was not committed and no harm was inflicted to the patient, by violating important QSEN competencies this incident could have caused a negative patient outcome.
Medical malpractice has become a controversial social issue. From a doctor’s standpoint, decisions and preventative actions can alter the medical malpractice lawsuits filed against them. In order to protect their career and professional life medical malpractice insurance is available. Medical professional liability insurance, sometimes known as medical malpractice insurance, is one type of professional liability insurance. “Professional liability refers to liability that arises from a failure to use due care and the standard of care expected from a person in a particular profession, in this case a doctor, dentist, nurse, hospital or other health-related organization” (Brandenburg, 2014).
A medical assistant is an individual that works alongside but not limited to physicians, mainly in outpatient or ambulatory care facilities, such as medical offices and clinics (Medical Assistant Job). A Certified Medical Assistant provides services necessary to support the physician and to help keep the facility running smoothly. It is possible for a Certified Medical Assistant to work without being certified (Medical Assistant Job). However, most employers are wanting the best out of the bunch. Not only would it be likelier for an individual to get a job, it looks better on a resume to have completed the course into becoming a Certified Medical Assistant.
Day by day medical technology is improving, unfortunately so are cases of nursing malpractice. By understanding the laws that governs nursing practice, it will help the nurse protect client’s rights and reduce the risk of nursing liability (Sommer, 2013, p. 23). It’s usually necessary to prove that the nurse was negligent to prove nursing malpractice. The Joint Commission defines negligence as a “failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would under similar circumstances” and malpractice as “improper or unethical conduct or unreasonable lack of skill by a holder of a professional or official position. Sommer defines professional negligence as the failure of a person who has a professional training to act in a reasonable and prudent manner (p. 24).
Medical malpractice cases are difficult for the families who have lost their loved one or have suffered from severe injuries. No one truly wins in complicated court hearings that consist of a team of litigation attorneys for both the defendant and plaintiff(s). During the trial, evidence supporting malpractice allegations have to be presented so that the court can make a decision if the physician was negligent resulting in malpractice, or if the injury was unavoidable due to the circumstances. In these types of tort cases, the physician is usually a defendant on trial trying to prove that he or she is innocent of the medical error, delay of treatment or procedure that caused the injury. The perfect example of being at fault for medical malpractice as a result of delaying a procedure is the case of Waverly family versus John Hopkins Health System Corporation. The victims were not compensated enough for the loss of their child’s normal life. Pozgar (2012) explained….
On the clinical side, medical assistants often are the people who take medical histories, prepare patients for examination, assist the doctor during appointments and perform basic laboratory tests, along with other clinical responsibilities.
An MOA must be willing to learn different methods, such as working with specific scheduling and billing software corporate to most medical practices. As in nearly all medically connected jobs, attention to element is a requirement. A future medical office assistant can attend a training program credited by the Commission on Approval of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) to produce into a certified medical administrative assistant (CMAA). Certification will raise your probabilities of being hired, as most companies prefer the stamp of approval it gives. The Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) is a generally recognized certification for Medical Administrative Assistants. It shows your capability to accomplish routine administrative responsibilities in a physicians’ office or clinic to keep it running efficiently. Medical Administrative Assistants are also known as Medical Office Clerks and Medical Office Assistants. Certification is not required to enter medical administrative assistant business. With that being said, certification looks great on a resume and can help businesses have more self-assurance in your skills. It demonstrates that you have the proper training they are looking for and you will only need
As a medical assistant you are certified to perform a certain amount of tasks just like any medical professional. As a certified medical assistant you are allowed to perform procedures such as measuring patient’s vital signs (blood pressure, temperatures, pulse, and respirations.) As a medical assistant you are allowed to prepare and handle medical equipment needed for a procedure. Also, being able to prepare specimens of body fluid and tissue for laboratory testing. When preforming these tasks everything must be documented for the provider.
On the contrary side a nurse would need the completion of training as well as a certification/license. Instead, a Medical Assistant needs training, but not all MA’s are required to go through training in order to work as a MA; they are not required to be licensed. They are both equally important, but having a license means more independence.
As medical assistants we are trained in both clinical and administrative duties, which is a unique skill, and sets us apart from other healthcare professionals. Administrative duties include tasks such as answering telephones, greeting patients, appointment scheduling, and arranging hospital admissions and laboratory services. Clinical duties include responsibilities such as taking medical histories, educating patients on any medical procedures, drawing blood, collecting specimens, and assisting the physician during exams. Because of the growing demand and extensive training of medical assistants, there is never a problem finding work in hospitals, clinics, or private doctors’ offices. (American Association of Medical Assistants, What is a Medical