Medical Assistants Need More Technical Education for Telehealth Use

A report from the University of Washington Center for Health and Workforce Studies showed that although there was limited information about how medical assistants (MAs) use telehealth, researchers found that these personnel transitioned to virtual care well but required further education and training.

As telehealth use and application skyrocketed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the roles of healthcare professionals evolved rapidly. Given these generally unprecedented changes, questions surrounding their effect on the healthcare workforce rose.

To gather insight into how telehealth affected the careers of MAs, researchers conducted a qualitative study that reviewed relevant published literature. They also conducted interviews with key informants who were credible in providing information regarding telehealth in primary care settings. The objectives of the study were to identify the skills of MAs that supported the transition to higher telehealth use, policies that supported these skills, and future needs to improve these skills.

Compared to other roles, there was limited evidence surrounding the relationship between MAs and telehealth. However, researchers noted that MAs made their mark on telehealth teams in certain specialty settings. One study, for example, found that MAs assisted with visit preparation in an orthopedic trauma clinic by phoning patients and delivering information surrounding telehealth visits.

The report also noted that the roles of MAs in telehealth were largely determined by the conditions of the clinic facilities, mainly how they were staffed. Smaller organizations, for example, often dedicated staff from other roles toward telehealth tasks, whereas larger organizations generally acted based on best practices.

Another significant point highlighted in the report related to the inadequate level of training that MAs often begin with. Although this issue was not only applicable to this role, many study interviewees noted that any training they received generally occurred on the spot.

“I think there’s room for more education absolutely. I think there’s always opportunity to improve their comfort level with using the technology... I say [MAs] are not prepared at all [in use of telehealth], I mean just based off my knowledge of medical students and nursing students and their preparation. It’s finally just starting to make it into medical and nursing curriculum,” a study interviewee said in the report.

Further, researchers emphasized the common opinion among interviewees that MAs needed higher levels of education surrounding the technical aspects of telehealth.

Thus, researchers concluded that although MAs can play a role in building clinic efficiency and care quality through telehealth, further resources and training are needed.

As telehealth use expands, healthcare professionals are exploring ways to establish provider-patient relationships through telehealth. Last May, healthcare leaders spoke with mHealthIntelligence about this issue, indicating that many steps are necessary to build those relationships.

The leaders emphasized that patients needed to feel comfortable when engaging in telehealth visits. To overcome barriers to patient comfort, they noted the need to train clinicians to better communicate and connect with patients virtually. This encompasses several technical training protocols allowing clinicians to gain confidence in the virtual setting.