Texas Medical Assistant Training Program

What Medical Assistants Cannot Do in Texas

The Texas State Medical Board specifies that physicians must exercise caution and good judgment when assigning responsibilities to medical assistants. The board states that medical assistants should not perform any task that might be considered the practice of medicine. These tasks may include:   

• Initial patient assessment
• Invasive procedures
• Prescribing medication
• Creating a plan of care
• Patient teaching
• Monitoring the effectiveness of a treatment or medication

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What Medical Assistants Can Do in Texas

Texas law allows medical assistants to carry out many different healthcare tasks, as long as they have been educated on how to perform the task safely, the outcome of the action is predictable, and the patient is stable.  

A medical assistant in Texas can perform the following tasks:

• Taking of personal and medical history
• Performance of appropriate physical examination and the recording of physical findings
• Ordering of tests appropriate to the services provided under such orders, such as tuberculin tests, skin tests, VD tests, VDRL tests, gram stains, pap smears, and serological tests
• Administration of immunization vaccines providing the recipient is free of any condition for which the immunization is contraindicated;
• Providing information regarding hygiene and the administration or providing of medications for health problems resulting from a lack of hygiene, including the institution of treatment for conditions such as scabies, ringworm, pinworm, head lice, diaper rash, and other minor skin disorders
• Provision of services and the administration of therapy by public health departments as officially prescribed by the Department of State Health Services for the prevention or treatment of specific communicable diseases or health conditions
• Issuance of a nonprescription drug for the symptomatic relief of minor illnesses provided that such medications are packaged and labeled in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.
• Administration of drugs ordered by direct personal or voice communication by the authorizing physician as long as they are one of the following: 
  
  • Diaphragms and contraceptive creams and jellies
  • Topical anti-infectives for vaginal use
  • Oral anti-parasitic drugs for the treatment of pinworms
  • Topical anti-parasitic drugs
  • Antibiotic drugs for the treatment of venereal disease.

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Common Texas Medical Assistant Responsibilities

Whether they work in hospitals, clinics, or outpatient settings, most medical assistants have similar sets of responsibilities. These responsibilities can be organized into clinical and administrative tasks. 

Administrative Tasks

• Answer phone calls
• Schedule appointments
• Handle billing and payments
• Organize supplies
• Maintain inventory
• Maintain patient records
• Document procedures
• Deal with insurance claims

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Clinical Tasks  

• Measure vital signs
• Draw blood
• Clean patient rooms
• Sterilize surgical tools
• Collect urine, sputum, and stool samples
• Assist patients with activities of daily living
• Give subcutaneous injections
• Give intramuscular injections
• Assist with procedures

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