Abstract
[This is an excerpt.] Patient medical advice requests (PMARs) have been increasing over the past decade, with a rapid intensification of this trend during the COVID-19 pandemic that persists. Many primary care practices have workflows in which primary care physicians (PCPs) directly receive these messages, despite data showing that this additional work is linked to clinician burnout and requires team-based care. Most published models discuss registered nurse (RN)-level workflow changes for management of PMARs, but nursing staffing shortages frequently limit implementation of this model. To solve this, we taught certified medical assistants (CMAs) how to manage incoming PMARs utilizing existing telephone call routing guidelines. [To read more, click View Resource.]
