Monday, March 16, 2015

Medical Assistant Employment Projected to Grow 29%

The medical assistant job outlook through 2022 looks solid according to estimates from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Medical assistant jobs are projected to grow 29% from 2012 to 2022, significantly better than the 11% average the BLS projects for all occupations during this period. The BLS projects that by 2022 the number of medical assistant jobs in the U.S. will reach almost 724,000 positions, an increase of about 163,000 jobs from 2012 levels.

A growing population of aging baby-boomers will continue to spur demand for preventive medical services, much of which will be provided by physicians. In addition, the Affordable Care Act is expanding the number of patients who have access to health insurance, which in turn will increase patient access to medical care.  As physician practices expand to support growing demand for healthcare services, demand for medical assistants to perform supportive administrative and clinical duties will continue expanding too.

Besides physician practices, a growing number of clinics, group practices, and other healthcare facilities will be needing more support workers, particularly medical assistants, to meet both administrative and clinical duties as overall demand for healthcare services continues its growth.

Further boosting demand for medical assistants will be the continuing evolution of health information technology within the health administration environment.  Implementation of electronic health record (EHR) technologies and protocols will very likely create new and changing tasks for medical assistants as part of the medical team. As more and more provider practices incorporate electronic health records (EHRs) into their administrative structure, medical assistants’ job responsibilities will expand accordingly. Medical assistants will undoubtedly need to become familiar with EHR computer software, including maintaining EHR security and analyzing electronic data, to improve healthcare information.

Medical Assistant Employment Projections


To learn more, visit Medical Assistants, What Do They Do?

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