At Fairview Health Services, in Rosemount, MN, the medical assistant (MA) conducts pre-visit phone calls two days before the appointment. During the call, she addresses medication review, agenda setting, lifestyle changes, advance directives, depression screening, and updates the patient's social and family histories.
MAs are able to place these calls during short breaks between rooming throughout the day. They then pre-populate the next day's clinic note with this information. For the most complex patients, the pharmacist may also make a call to perform pre-visit medication reconciliation.