Physician practices are hiring medical assistants to help, and in some cases, replace, nurses, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
This uptick in hiring entry-level medical assistants has been propelled by the need to control costs and increase reporting efforts. These workers are typically paid $12 to $14 per hour, according to the report. Registered nurses are paid $21.62 to $46.46 an hour in comparison.
Bruce Block, MD, chief learning and medical informatics officer at Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, told the Pittsburgh Business Times that lower-paid licensed practice nurses, nursing assistants and other workers are taking over many of the duties of registered nurses, such as drawing blood, taking vital signs and gathering information from the patient.
In some practices these workers have replaced registered nurses, but in many, they handle back-office functions and allow nurses to practice at the top of their license, according to the report.
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