What is a GP Assistant?
As part of the wider team in general practice, General Practice Assistants provide a support role, carrying out administrative tasks, combined in some areas with basic clinical duties.
They can help to free up GPs time and contribute to the smooth running of appointments, improving patients experience in the surgery.
The GP Assistant role (sometimes known as Medical Assistants) was initially developed in the United States, to safely deliver a combination of routine administrative tasks and some basic clinical duties in the general practice setting. The focus being on supporting General Practitioners in their day-to-day management of patients, specifically aimed at reducing the administrative burden, making best use of consultation time and supporting those particularly vulnerable to isolation who are regular attenders at the practice.
What difference can General Practice Assistants make?
Evidence suggests that effective adoption of this role has the potential to:
- improve patient access and release highly qualified staff to concentrate on treating and managing patients with more complex conditions
- improve patient flow within surgery hours, increasing the time efficiency of appointments, and reduction of waiting times; supporting patient experience by ‘translating’ or reiterating information from the GP
- have a positive impact on GP retention and job satisfaction
- reduce time spent by GPs on managing correspondence by 85%