Patient portal messages: The value of tapping medical assistants to manage workflow

A small study conducted at a primary care practice in Philadelpha found that using medical assistants to filter and triage patient portal messages was an effective time saver for physicians, and had other beneficial results when it came to physician burnout and a gender gap in responses.

For other practices considering a similar workflow, what recommendations do the practice leaders have? Watch the video to find out.

The results of the study — authored by Jennifer N. Lee, MD, FAAFP; Laura Kurash, MD, Max Yang and Joseph Teel, MD, FAAFP — were published in the Annals of Family Medicine in May.

Medical Economics recently sat down with Lee to discuss the study findings. Lee is medical director at Penn Family Care and vice chair of clinical operations at the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also assistant professor of clinical family member at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.