ASSIGNMENT 4
H01 Medical Office Management 1
Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double-spaced pages; refer to the “Assignment Format” page located on the Course Home page for specific format requirements.
In Lessons 1 through 4, you learned foundational information on the profession of medical assisting. You learned about the required characteristics of a medical assistant, the history of the profession, ethic and legal obligations of the medical assistant, patient communication, and telephone techniques. For this written assignment, the concepts learned from Lessons 1-4 will be applied. Please review the learning objectives for Lessons 1-4 prior to beginning work on this assignment.
Complete Parts A and B for this assignment.
Part A: Kayla Christianson, CMA, has been employed six years by the cardiology practice of three physicians. She is a graduate of a CAAHEP-accredited school. Furthermore, Kayla received extensive hands-on training performing ECGs while doing her required externship.
Kayla has completed an ECG ordered by Dr. Hsu for Mrs. Warner, a 76-year-old patient. Dr. Hsu, Kayla’s boss, has telephoned her explaining that he was behind schedule doing rounds at the hospital. He asked her to do him a favor and interpret Mrs. Warner’s ECG, sign his name, and fax the report to Mrs. Warner’s referring internist who is expecting the results.
Provide detailed answers for each of the following questions. Your response should be two (2) pages in length.
- Given the scope of Kayla’s education, training, and years of experience as a CMA, would this favor fall within the AAMA guidelines of her responsibilities?
- Would any portion ofDr. Hsu’s request fall within the guidelines? If so, which portion(s)? Is an exception to these guidelines ever allowed?
- How should Kayla respond to Dr. Hsu?
Part B: For more than two years, medical assistant Linda Lewis had been employed by Drs. Norek and Klein, who are gerontologists. Also on staff are two registered nurses, a medical laboratory technician, and a medical social worker. The daughter of one of the doctor’s patients has just called the office. She is very distraught at the seemingly diminished capacity of her mother and insists on speaking to the doctor.
Linda explains that both physicians take only emergency calls during patient appointment hours, but that she will take a detailed message. This caller, however, suggests that not only should her call be considered an emergency, but that she will sue the doctor if the call is not handled accordingly.
Provide detailed answers for each of the following questions. Your response should be two (2) pages in length.
- What should Linda do immediately to diffuse the situation?
- Is this clearly a case when the call should be passed on to one of the registered nurses or the medical social worker?
- Is this a case when the physician should be called to the telephone because of the threat of an impending suit?
- How could Linda ascertain whether or not this is indeed an emergency? Is it up to her, as a medical assistant, to make such a determination?
- Because this is the patient’s daughter rather than the patient herself, does Linda have any reason to enter into a conversation with the caller? Could Linda be ethically bound by confidentiality not to admit the woman’s mother is a patient?
Grading Rubric
Please refer to the rubric on the next page for the grading criteria for this assignment.
This is the end of Assignment 4.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This assignment requires applying the fundamental concepts learned in Lessons 1 through 4 of medical assisting. The questions in Part A and Part B revolve around scenarios related to the scope of practice, patient communication, and ethical and legal obligations of medical assistants. The answers to each question are as follows:
Part A:
1. Given Kayla’s education, training, and years of experience as a CMA, this favor falls outside the AAMA guidelines of her responsibilities. Interpreting an ECG and signing a physician’s name are beyond the scope of practice for a medical assistant, regardless of their experience or education level.
2. None of Dr. Hsu’s requests fall within the guidelines of medical assisting. As mentioned earlier, signing a physician’s name and interpreting an ECG are beyond the scope of practice for a medical assistant. Although exceptions to the guidelines are possible, it is not ethical to do so in this scenario.
3. Kayla should inform Dr. Hsu that interpreting an ECG and signing his name are beyond her scope of practice and could be detrimental to both him and the patient. Kayla can offer to assist Dr. Hsu in another manner that aligns with her education and experience.
Part B:
1. Linda should remain calm and professional, acknowledge the caller’s concerns, and reinforce the office’s policy by requesting the caller to leave a detailed message, including her name and contact information. Linda should ensure the caller that her message will be forwarded to the appropriate personnel, and they will respond as soon as possible.
2. Yes, this is a case that should be escalated to one of the registered nurses or the medical social worker. Handling patient emergencies and critical calls are the responsibility of trained professionals with the necessary knowledge and experience to handle such situations.
3. Unless there is a genuine emergency or a life or death situation, calling the physician to the telephone is not necessary because of the threat of an impending suit.
4. Linda can ask appropriate questions to determine the nature of the emergency and evaluate whether the call requires immediate attention. While medical assistants cannot diagnose or treat patients, they can help triage patient concerns and escalate issues to the appropriate personnel. It is not up to Linda to determine whether it is an emergency or not; however, she can gather the necessary information to provide the relevant information to the relevant personnel.
5. As a medical assistant, Linda has a duty to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of the patient’s information. She shouldn’t reveal any information about the patient or her mother to the caller without proper authorisation. Linda can suggest that the mother calls back herself or contacts her healthcare provider to discuss the matter further.
