Survey of Services Provided by Medical Office Assistants and Entry of Data into Electronic Health Records

Abstract

 The purpose of this study is to comprehend the actual services of medical office assistants (MOAs) and their role in entering data into electronic health records (EHRs). We surveyed 1146 hospitals that employed MOAs and received 445 responses (response rate 38.2%). The results showed that MOAs performed at a high rate in hospitals that wrote physicians' medical certificates, for example, insurance forms (362 hospitals). At nearly half the hospitals, MOAs took roles in answering internal lines or a handy phone, filing letters and e-mails, and doing other secretarial duties.
 The rate at which MOAs entered data or wrote the examination orders for outpatients was 37.3%; they wrote other physicians' orders at a rate of less than 30%. As for the four types of work (writing health records, orders for examinations for outpatients, and orders for medical procedures for outpatients and for inpatients), the study showed MOAs in hospitals that have EHRs take more of a role in data entry and writing orders or records than MOAs in hospitals that do not have EHRs.