Patient Navigators: An Ideal Role for Credentialed Medical Assistants-CMAs (AAMA): Linchpins of the Patient-Centered Medical Home

CMAs (AAMA): Linchpins of the Patient-Centered Medical Home

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In November 2008, the Board of Trustees of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) instructed Executive Director Donald A. Balasa to represent AAMA at the “Blueprint for the Medical Home” Conference, which focused on implementing the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model in primary care. The PCMH model, defined by major medical associations in 2007, aims to provide comprehensive primary care through partnerships between patients, personal physicians, and the patient's family. The seven joint principles of PCMH include personal physician, physician-directed medical practice, whole-person orientation, coordinated care, quality and safety, enhanced access, and payment reform.<br /><br />Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) are highlighted as crucial for the successful implementation of the PCMH due to their comprehensive training in the “Core Curriculum for Medical Assistants.” This curriculum prepares CMAs for various essential aspects of PCMH, such as applying critical thinking, developing community resource lists, using information technology, and managing appointment schedules. Specifically, they play vital roles in patient care coordination, advocacy, communication, and ensuring quality and safety in medical practices.<br /><br />The “Core Curriculum” equips CMAs with skills in patient assessment, maintaining community resource lists, using electronic health records (EHRs), coordinating care across complex health systems, and scheduling patient appointments. These skills make CMAs indispensable in the PCMH model, which is expected to revolutionize primary health care delivery in the U.S. The report underscores that medical assisting is a rapidly growing profession, driven by its centrality to the PCMH approach.<br /><br />This increased role in the evolving healthcare landscape ensures that CMAs will continue to be pivotal in enhancing primary health care quality and effectiveness. The AAMA's ongoing commitment to educating and empowering CMAs is essential for the future of patient-centered medical homes.

Keywords

Patient-Centered Medical Home

PCMH

Certified Medical Assistants

AAMA

primary care

healthcare

quality and safety

care coordination

electronic health records

medical assisting