Medical Assistant Roles and Skills in Telehealth Team-Based Care

Medical Assistants are sometimes described as the “choreographers” of the team-based care visit. But how does the choreography of an in-person visit translate to the telehealth visits that have been adopted in response to COVID-19? With telehealth, health centers are forced to e-design and re-imagine the team-based visit, and the role of the MA. This session draws on the experience of two community health centers and the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement to explore the changing role of the MA, and the implications for MA skills, aptitudes, and training. The session will highlight the various roles MAs can take on in a telehealth model, and what “choreography” looks like in telehealth. Panelists will also discuss MA skills and aptitudes needed to support a successful telehealth visit, and how their organizations have facilitated the development of those skills. The panelists will share a brief self-assessment that participants can use to identify 1) how they can better use MAs to support telehealth visits, and 2) skills that their MA staff may need to build to better support telehealth.