A recent landmark decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave greater job responsibility to medical assistants working in Michigan. The ruling authorized credentialed medical assistants to input medicinal orders into the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system; a duty that was previously reserved exclusively for licensed health care professionals with prescriptive authority.
This judgment by the CMS widens the scope of practice for medical assistants in Michigan, thereby creating a greater demand for them in health care setting such as hospitals, physicians’ offices, medical clinics, and nursing care facilities.
According to Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, there were 416,900 medical assistants working throughout the country in 2006. Of these, approximately 13,475 found employment in Michigan. Government findings anticipate an average of 760 new medical assistant jobs to be added each year in Michigan for the foreseeable future.
In 2007, medical assistants working in Michigan’s hospitals earned an average of $13.20 an hour statewide, while those in the East Central region earned an average hourly wage of $11.17. Those working in the West Central region did the best among those working in Michigan’s hospitals, earning an average of $15.32 per hour.
That same year, medical assistants employed in Michigan’s laboratories earned between $11.70-$14.59 an hour based on location.
Medical assistants in Michigan’s government-run correctional facilities earned the most when compared to other practice settings. In 2008, the middle range hourly wage for medical assistants working in Michigan’s correctional facilities was between $14.93-$22.86 an hour.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics published salary data for medical assistants in Michigan’s major cities and non-metro areas as shown below:
