Why is it important for a medical assistant to be knowledgeable about other allied health care professionals and their primary duties?

Interdisciplinary care is very important in today's health care.  Interdisciplinary care is the care given to a patient by all health care professionals involved in the patients care including physicians, specialists, social workers, nurses, nursing assistance, therapists, medical assistants, etc.  It is important to understand what the duties and roles of other health care professionals are and how these relate or overlap the duties of others such as the medical assistant.  This helps in the plan of care for the patient and in settings such as the hospital or nursing homes all or some of these health care professionals are involved in treatment team or care planning conferences that collaborates and plans care for that patient.  These meetings also can assign certain goals of the patients care to different types of health care professionals.  Such as a patients need for outside resources would most likely be designated to the social worker.  Patients need for education on medicines or the illness could be assigned to the nursing staff and education regarding lab or test results would be assigned to the physicians.

As people are living longer and often have very complicated cases with multiple issues and health problems interdisciplinary care is more important than ever.