Medical Assistant / Medical Front Office

NextCare•Temple, TX

About The Position

NextCare Urgent Care is seeking an energetic, enthusiastic, customer-friendly Medical Assistant who enjoys a fast-paced setting and working as part of a team. The role supports patient care in the back office and may also support front-office reception, depending on clinic staffing needs. The Medical Assistant helps maintain smooth clinic operations and patient flow while treating patients with respect and dignity. Under the direct supervision of a provider and within the Medical Assistant scope of practice, the role assists with examinations, procedures, medication administration, blood draws, specimen collection, and other urgent-care services. Depending on the clinic and assigned duties, responsibilities may also include moderate-complexity laboratory testing and related quality, documentation, proficiency-testing, and inspection-readiness work. When assigned to front-office reception, the Medical Assistant keeps patients and families informed about wait times, monitors patient flow, and processes discharges, including preparing charges, collecting payments, obtaining signatures, and issuing receipts. Employees are expected to be cross-trained and may work in front-office or back-office functions, or both.

Requirements

Minimum high school diploma or GED (Arizona requirements specify a high school diploma or equivalent).
Complete an approved, accredited Medical Assistant training program; alternatively, complete a non-accredited Medical Assistant training program and obtain national certification through AAMA (CMA), AMT (RMA), or NHA (CCMA).
For applicants outside Arizona, an alternative qualification is completion of an unapproved Medical Assistant training program and at least one year of employment as a Medical Assistant after program completion, or verifiable work experience directly supervised by a provider or physician group for at least 2,000 hours or one year.
Other Medical Assistant education or experience may be considered subject to review and approval by the Compliance and Regulatory department.
Proficiency with EMR/EHR systems.
Ability to provide patient care within the Medical Assistant scope of practice and under provider supervision.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment and provide customer-friendly service.

Responsibilities

Assist providers with examinations, including taking patient vital signs, procedures, and other direct-care processes under provider supervision and within the Medical Assistant scope of practice.
Administer medications according to policy and provider direction, following applicable safety protocols.
Perform blood draws as directed by the provider.
Collect urine specimens for testing, including employer drug screens, when required.
Perform splinting and casting when required.
Conduct physicals, including sports physicals.
Perform other urgent-care duties such as ear lavage, wound care, and oxygen administration.
Promptly report unusual patient occurrences, including medication events, to the provider on duty using an incident report.
Promptly notify the Clinic Manager of patient or employee safety concerns.
Follow laboratory and clinical accreditation policies and requirements.
Use the electronic medical record/electronic health record system proficiently.
Perform other duties as assigned or described by Company policy.
When assigned laboratory duties, perform authorized moderate-complexity clinical testing in disciplines such as Chemistry, Hematology, and Urinalysis according to the laboratory's COLA-approved SOP manual.
When assigned laboratory duties, perform and document daily instrument calibrations, quality-control tracking, and corrective actions for out-of-range values before reporting patient results.
Maintain orderly, verifiable, audit-ready records for pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical laboratory activities in preparation for biennial COLA on-site surveys.
Participate in documented competency assessments semiannually during the first year of employment and annually thereafter, covering the six CLIA-mandated elements.
Test and document blind proficiency-testing samples as patient specimens, following anti-commingling regulations.
Accession, process, and centrifuge specimens; evaluate sample integrity; and accurately enter results into the Laboratory Information System.
Recognize critical, life-threatening laboratory results and promptly follow notification protocols for the attending Texas healthcare provider.
When assigned front-office duties, keep patients and families informed of wait times and monitor patient flow.
When assigned front-office duties, process patient discharges by preparing charges, collecting payment, obtaining required signatures, and issuing receipts.
Support customer service and help ensure that the clinic and front reception area operate smoothly and patient flow remains optimal.