The Most Common Administrative Tasks for PAs | The Posh PA
Summary
TLDRThis video script discusses the administrative duties of Physician Assistants (PAs), which often extend beyond clinical responsibilities. It highlights the importance of accurate documentation in electronic medical records, patient communication, consulting with other specialties, and managing medication refills. The speaker also touches on dealing with insurance companies for authorizations and the balance needed between clinical and administrative tasks. The overview emphasizes the varied nature of PA work, including the potential for frustration with administrative overload and the joy of patient education.
Takeaways
- 📝 Documentation is a crucial administrative task for Physician Assistants (PAs), involving charting notes and using electronic medical records systems.
- 💻 The choice between dictation and typing for charting depends on personal efficiency, with some PAs preferring to type due to speed.
- 🔍 PAs must document all patient interactions, including phone consultations, to ensure continuity of care and accurate medical records.
- 📧 Communication through the electronic medical records system is essential, avoiding the use of personal emails for patient correspondence.
- 💊 Administrative duties include managing medication refills, educating patients on their prescriptions, and documenting these interactions.
- 📞 PAs often field calls from patients, providing advice and answering questions post-appointment or hospital discharge.
- 🏥 Interacting with insurance companies for authorization of tests and handling prior authorizations is part of some PAs' responsibilities.
- 👩⚕️ Balancing clinical and administrative tasks is vital; if administrative work dominates, it may indicate a need for reassessment of workload distribution.
- 📈 Following up on test results and notifying patients are part of the ongoing administrative and clinical responsibilities of PAs.
- 👨🏫 Medical education, such as teaching patients about their medications and expected reactions, is a significant aspect of a PA's role, with associated documentation.
- 📈 Administrative responsibilities are common across healthcare professions, not limited to PAs, and include documentation, billing, and patient care continuity.
Q & A
What are some common administrative tasks that Physician Assistants (PAs) may be required to perform?
-Common administrative tasks for PAs include documentation in electronic medical records, charting progress notes, handling patient phone calls and emails, consulting with other specialties, placing orders for medications and referrals, refilling medication prescriptions, and dealing with insurance companies for authorizations.
Why is documentation so important for PAs?
-Documentation is crucial for ensuring continuity and continuation of care for patients. It allows for accurate record-keeping of what was seen and done for each patient, which is essential for follow-up care and communication among healthcare providers.
How has the shift to electronic medical records impacted the way PAs document their work?
-The shift to electronic medical records has standardized the documentation process across healthcare settings. PAs must learn to use these systems to accurately document patient interactions, progress notes, and other necessary information.
What are some variations in how PAs might document their patient interactions?
-Some programs use dictation systems for documentation, while others require typing. The method a PA chooses depends on their efficiency and preference, whether they type faster or are more comfortable dictating.
Why is it important for PAs to document phone interactions with patients?
-Documenting phone interactions ensures that there is a record of any advice given, prescriptions made, or other medical decisions taken during the call. This is important for maintaining patient care continuity and for legal purposes.
How do PAs handle patient inquiries and advice requests outside of face-to-face consultations?
-PAs handle such inquiries by responding to emails through the electronic medical records system, answering phone calls, and providing advice based on the patient's condition and needs. It's important to document these interactions for the patient's medical record.
What is the role of PAs in dealing with insurance companies regarding authorizations?
-PAs may need to contact insurance companies to obtain authorizations for certain tests or treatments. This can involve peer-to-peer conversations with medical directors to make a case for the necessity of the ordered tests or treatments.
How can PAs balance their clinical responsibilities with administrative tasks?
-PAs should ensure they are not spending more time on administrative work than on their clinical practice. If they find themselves out of balance, they should communicate with their team or administration to adjust their workload or responsibilities.
What are some administrative tasks that PAs might perform in relation to medication management?
-PAs may be responsible for approving medication refills, educating patients on their medications, and documenting these interactions in the medical record. They also need to follow up on medication orders and test results.
How does the administrative workload of a PA compare to other healthcare professionals?
-All roles in healthcare have some level of administrative responsibility, including documentation and billing. However, the extent of these tasks can vary depending on the specific role and practice setting.
What additional administrative responsibilities might PAs have in specialized fields like oncology?
-In specialized fields like oncology, PAs may have additional responsibilities such as medical education, teaching patients about their treatments and medications, and documenting these educational sessions.
Outlines
📝 Administrative Tasks for Physician Assistants
The first paragraph discusses the administrative responsibilities of a Physician Assistant (PA), which are crucial but can vary significantly depending on the practice setting. The speaker emphasizes the importance of documentation in electronic medical records, which is a fundamental task for ensuring continuity of care. They also mention the use of dictation systems versus typing, highlighting the need to choose the most efficient method. Other administrative duties include responding to patient emails, phone calls, consulting with other specialties, placing orders for medications and referrals, and refilling medications. The paragraph also touches on the potential frustration of dealing with insurance companies for authorizations and the importance of maintaining a balance between clinical and administrative work.
🔄 Balancing Clinical and Administrative Roles in Healthcare
The second paragraph continues the discussion on the administrative side of being a PA, focusing on the balance between clinical and administrative tasks. It acknowledges that certain tasks like documentation, phone calls, and patient advice are inherent to the profession. The speaker also addresses the potential frustration that PAs might feel when dealing with tasks such as medication refills and prior authorizations, which can be time-consuming. The paragraph highlights the importance of minimizing these tasks to maintain a balance with clinical responsibilities. Additionally, it mentions the role of PAs in medical education, particularly in oncology, where teaching patients about their treatments is a significant part of the job, even though it involves administrative documentation. The speaker concludes by stating that every role in healthcare has some level of administrative responsibility, and that while there may be variations in the extent of these tasks, they are an unavoidable part of clinical practice.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Clinical Duties
💡Administrative Tasks
💡Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
💡Documentation
💡Dictation Systems
💡Continuity of Care
💡Consultations
💡Medication Refills
💡Insurance Companies
💡Prior Authorizations
💡Balance
💡Medical Education
Highlights
Administrative tasks are an important part of a Physician Assistant's (PA) role, in addition to clinical duties.
Documentation is a key administrative responsibility, including charting notes in electronic medical records systems.
PA's must accurately document patient interactions to ensure continuity of care.
Some practices use dictation systems while others prefer typing for documentation.
Documenting phone consultations and medication prescriptions is also crucial for patient care.
PA's need to manage patient emails and phone calls through the medical records system, not personal email.
Consulting with other specialties and placing orders for medications and referrals are part of a PA's administrative tasks.
Refilling medications and educating patients about their prescriptions is essential.
Handling insurance authorizations and dealing with insurance companies can be time-consuming.
PA's may assist with prior authorizations for medications and imaging studies, depending on the practice.
A balance between clinical and administrative responsibilities is important for PA's to avoid being overwhelmed.
Following up on test results and notifying patients is a part of a PA's administrative duties.
Medical education, such as teaching patients about their medications, is a significant aspect of a PA's role.
Administrative documentation is necessary after patient-facing interactions.
All healthcare roles have some level of administrative responsibility, including documentation and billing.
Research and clinical trials may involve additional administrative tasks for PA's.
The speaker offers to create a separate video on billing and productivity for PA's if there is interest.
This video provides a general overview of the administrative responsibilities of a PA.
Transcripts
foreign
part of being a PA and that is more of
the administrative tasks that sometimes
we're required to do depending on your
practice setting but I think it's an
important topic to talk about because
outside of our clinical duties there are
administrative tasks that need to be
completed so let's talk a little bit
about what those look like
but if you haven't already hit that
subscribe button you know I'm here every
week dropping tips and tricks to help
you on your journey to PA school and
well beyond into practice
okay so let's talk about some of the
administrative duties that Pas can have
this is going to vary pretty
significantly depending on your practice
setting and the way that your group
works so take into consideration that
you may be asked to do some of these
tasks but not all of these tasks in your
practice so the first thing that we all
have to do as clinicians is
documentation it can be the bane of our
existence but we have to document what
we saw and did for the patient every day
and that includes charting our notes in
an electronic medical records system
pretty much everywhere has changed over
to an electronic medical record system
at this point so really it's about
learning that medical record system and
being able to accurately document
your progress notes your new patient
notes and all of that into the chart
some programs use dictation systems
others type in my office some people
dictate I like to type because I'm fast
at that so it really just depends on
what you're more efficient at doing
um that really will determine how you
decide to chart now yes we have to chart
on every single person that we saw and
sometimes we have to chart on people
that we spoke to over the phone right if
you're prescribing something to somebody
over the phone after their appointment
you definitely want to document that
that's happened okay so documentation is
a really big part of the administrative
responsibilities of a PA because we have
to make sure that we're ensuring
continuity and continuation of care for
the patient with accurate documentation
in the medical record so that may
include also emails from patients
through the electronical medical records
system never through your personal email
okay so answering those inbox messages
patient phone calls
Consulting with other Specialties as
needed placing orders you know for
patients whether that's medication
orders
whether that's referrals to other
Physicians you know really filling out
that information that they need to
ensure that continuity of care you know
asking for consults for different
patients for different reasons those are
all part of the administrative and
day-to-day tasks of Pas that's outside
of your you know one-on-one interactions
with patients there are also some things
that we need to do like refill
medications approve medication refills
okay make sure that we're educating
patients on the medications that they're
taking and so that they have a good idea
of what the prescription is what it is
for and how they're going to fill it and
then making sure we document that in the
medical record Fielding calls you know
from patients who have left the office
or left the hospital and just being able
to answer their questions those are more
administrative tasks you know really
sitting down and being being able to
answer those phone calls and answer
those advice requests
um is a part of of our duties also
sometimes we are asked to deal with
insurance companies so a lot of times
um here in the United States we have
insurance providers that have to approve
certain tests that we order and
sometimes they don't approve them and we
need to get on the phone with the
insurance companies and do what they
call a peer-to-peer authorization and
that can take up a lot of time because
you have to wait on hold and you have to
get to the right person and you need to
speak to a medical director and really
make your case of why you're ordering
this test for this person
okay so that can also be a
responsibility along with paperwork such
as FMLA or prior authorizations but in
my practice currently we have um it's
set up that we do not do prior
authorizations but in others Pas do help
with prior authorizations for
medications and for Imaging studies okay
so it really depends on your practice
environment how much of that you might
be asked to do all right what you don't
want as a PA is to be spending more of
your time on administrative work than
you are in your clinical practice if
that is happening you are out of balance
okay and need to talk to your your team
your practice your Administration and
really kind of tell them hey you know
I'm spending this much time
you know doing administrative work I
need some administrative time and or you
you know maybe this isn't the right you
use of my time or my skills and so yes
there are some things that come with the
territory like documentation and phone
calls and patient advice and all of that
but sometimes these other things like
refills or prior author peer-to-peers
can really you know
get frustrating you know for Pas in
their practice and so we really try to
minimize that as much as possible so we
can have more of that balance between
between our clinical responsibilities
and our administrative responsibilities
now remember we're also ordering tests
we need to follow up on those results we
need to notify people of their results
um and a large part of my job
particularly at oncology is a medical
education so you want to be teaching
people about the drugs that they're
going to get and so there's
documentation involved in that as well
to me I love that part of my job I love
teaching you know patients what
medicines they're going to get how they
might react what to expect all of those
things but it does take a lot of time
but it is patient facing so it's not
really a lot of administrative work but
once you leave the room there is
Administrative documentation to be done
on the back end now are there
professions that have less or more
administrative responsibilities in
healthcare I'm gonna say probably not
okay everybody every single role in
healthcare has an administrative
responsibility because we have to do
documentation we have to do billing we
have to be responsible for the the paper
I guess continuity of care of patients
okay so there's always going to be some
administrative tasks associated with a
clinical practice that's just the way it
is you know in certain practices you may
also have research and clinical trials
and things like that in which case
there's a lot more paperwork but
typically there is a research team
that's designated to do that
um and we need to be signing off on
certain things so those are just kind of
some of the administrative
responsibilities you you can be asked to
do you might be asked to do billing is a
whole separate video if you want me to
talk about uh billing you know as a PA I
could certainly do that drop it in the
comments and I can talk to you about
billing and rvu and productivity
um I've I was a manager for a while so I
have an idea of what all of that is like
um so if you wanted a video on that I
could do that too but here I just wanted
to give you sort of a general overview
of what some of the administrative tests
are for PA so I hope you found it
helpful and I'll see you next time
thank you
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