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Profile of Medical Assistants Across Primary Care Practice Settings

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NYHealth

Funding Area

Primary Care

Date

January 22, 2026

Primary Care

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Introduction

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of the primary care team and play essential roles in delivering patient-centered care. They are often among the first and most consistent points of contact for patients, helping to improve access, communication, and quality of care. Many MAs come from the communities they serve, making them uniquely positioned to build strong relationships and trust with patients, particularly patients of color and those from other historically marginalized groups.  

MAs bring important skills to primary care, including collecting essential health information, supporting preventive care, reinforcing patient education, and ensuring care is culturally and linguistically accessible. As the MA workforce continues to grow faster than most other health care occupations, their roles have become even more important. In New York State, however, MAs are neither licensed nor defined by a scope of practice, leading to wide variation in how they are engaged across primary care practice settings. Notably, New York remains the only state that does not allow MAs to administer vaccinations, even with appropriate training and supervision. 

In 2024, the New York Health Foundation commissioned the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity to assess how MAs are integrated into care delivery, trained, and supported in their professional development across primary care teams across New York State. The survey examined MA activities in key areas—including clinical care, communication, patient education, and population health—across five practice settings: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), outpatient practices at academic medical centers, single- and multi-specialty group practices, and solo practices. Findings revealed both commonalities and differences in how MAs contribute across practice settings. Some activities were nearly universal, such as taking vital signs. Others were less consistent; for example, only 16% of practice settings reported that MAs administer medication. Overall, MAs were most frequently engaged in direct clinical care, with greater variation in patient education and population health roles.

The profiles below synthesize survey findings across the five practice settings. 

Suggested Citation: Foti, A., Okonkwo, C. Ford, MM., Cobbs, E. Havusha, A. Sandman, D. 2025. “Profile of Medical Assistants Across Primary Care Practice Settings.” New York Health Foundation. New York, NY.

Key Considerations for Clinical Leaders

  • Identify strengths and gaps: Review MA roles across practice settings to identify where MAs are highly engaged and where their contributions are underutilized. 
  • Adapt across practice settings: While no single model fits every practice setting, learn from those where MAs are more engaged to enhance team-based care. 
  • Promote efficiency: Delegate routine tasks—such as notifying patients of test results or supporting visit planning—to MAs, allowing providers to focus on complex care. 
  • Center equity: Recognize MAs’ frequent roles as translators and cultural navigators and compensate them fairly to ensure care is accessible and responsive to diverse patient needs. 
  • Invest in growth and retention: Provide training and career advancement opportunities to improve MA retention and ensure continuity and quality of care

Key Findings

  • Maternal death rates: Between 2018 and 2021, Black women and birthing people in New York State experienced maternal death rates more than four times higher than their white counterparts (65.2 vs. 15.5 deaths per 100,000 live births).  
  • Serious complications related to childbirth: Black birthing New Yorkers faced life-threatening complications at a rate 2.5 times higher than white birthing New Yorkers (192.5 vs. 77.9 life-threatening complications per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations). 
  • Healthy pregnancy conversations: Black (26.0%) and Hispanic (18.8%) women and birthing people reported lower engagement in healthy pregnancy conversations with providers, compared to white birthing people (30.9%). 
  • Early prenatal care: Black (71.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (69.8%) women and birthing people reported lower rates of early (i.e., first trimester) prenatal care compared to white women and birthing people (85.8%).  
  • Postpartum visits: Black (89.1%) and Hispanic (88.5%) women and birthing people reported lower rates of postpartum visits compared to white women and birthing people (93.2%).  

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of patient-centered primary care, serving as trusted members of the care team and supporting patients throughout their visits. In Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)—federally funded, community-based clinics that provide comprehensive primary and preventive care regardless of a person’s ability to pay—MAs primarily support clinical care and patient communication. They play essential roles in documentation and care coordination before and after visits. The data below describe how MAs perform their roles in FQHCs and contribute to the delivery of community-based primary care in New York State. 

Compared to Other Practice Settings, MAs in FQHCs are:  

  • More involved in visit planning discussions (69% vs. 59% overall average), with the highest rate across all practice settings. 
  • Less involved in administering medications (3% vs. 16% overall average), with the lowest rate across practice settings. 
  • Less involved in identifying diabetic patients overdue for HgbA1c testing (35% vs. 59% overall average), with the largest difference between FQHCs and other practice settings among activities. 
  • Less involved in helping patients set goals to manage chronic conditions (9% vs. 22% overall average). 

Academic Outpatient Practices

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of patient-centered primary care, serving as trusted members of the care team and supporting patients throughout their visits. In academic outpatient practices (AOPs)—clinics affiliated with universities or teaching hospitals—MAs help providers and providers-in-training with routine clinical tasks and contribute to patient education. The data below describe how MAs perform their role in AOPs and contribute to the delivery of primary care in New York State. 

Compared to Other Practice Settings, MAs in AOPs are:[1] 

  • More involved in motivational interviewing (67%[2] vs. 33% overall average), with the highest rate across all practice settings. 
  • Less involved in notifying patients of normal test results (25% vs. 50% overall average), with the lowest rate among all practice settings. 
  • Less involved in reviewing and updating medications (40% vs. 71% overall average), with the lowest rate among all practice settings.  
  • Less involved in visit planning discussions (20% vs. 59% overall average), with the largest difference between AOPs and other practice settings observed among activities. 
[1] Results for academic outpatient practices should be interpreted with caution due to the small response rate (n=6). These findings may not fully represent how MAs are engaged across all academic outpatient practices in New York State.
[2] Of the practice settings surveyed (applicable across findings).

 

Single Specialty Group Practices

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of patient-centered primary care, serving as trusted members of the care team and supporting patients throughout their visits. In single-specialty group practices (SSGPs)—where multiple providers serve patients within the same specialty—MAs play expanded roles across several domains of patient care, focusing on patient intake and routine clinical support. The data below describe how MAs perform their roles in SSGPs and contribute to the delivery of primary care in New York State. 

Compared to Other Practice Settings, MAs in SSGPs are:

  • Universally involved in recording chief complaints and medical history (100% vs. 83% overall average), with the highest rate across all practice settings. 
  • More involved in assisting with procedures such as suturing (84% vs. 69% overall average). 
  • Less involved in visit planning discussions (46% vs. 59% overall average). 
  • Less involved in identifying diabetic patients overdue for HgbA1c testing (36% vs. 59% overall average), with the largest difference between SSGPs and other practice settings observed among activities. 

Multi-Specialty Group Practices

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of patient-centered primary care, serving as trusted members of the care team and supporting patients throughout their visits. In multi-specialty group practices (MSGPs)—practices that bring together providers across several clinical specialties—MAs support both primary and specialty care, contributing to direct clinical care, communication, and population health.[3] The data below describe how MAs perform their roles in MSGPs and contribute to the delivery of primary care in New York State.

Compared to Other Practice Settings, MAs in MSGPs are: 

  • Universally involved in serving as translators (100% vs. 85% overall average), with the highest rate across all practice settings. 
  • More involved in assisting with procedures such as suturing (94% vs. 69% overall average), with one of the largest differences observed between MSGPs and other practice settings. 
  • Less involved in refilling prescriptions based on standing orders (0% vs. 16% overall average), (tied for) the lowest rate across all practice settings. 
  • Less involved in reviewing after-visit summaries with patients (25% vs. 46% overall average). 
[3] MAs at MSGPs also frequently support administrative activities (not depicted in infographics), with higher involvement in updating and filing patient records and insurance forms (53% vs. 38% overall average), assigning referrals and laboratory services (56% vs. 42% overall average), and completing hospital admission forms (46% vs. 24% overall average).

 

Solo Practices

Medical Assistants (MAs) are a cornerstone of patient-centered primary care, serving as trusted members of the care team and supporting patients throughout their visits. In solo practices—where a single physician delivers primary care to patients—MAs often manage a broad range of clinical and health management responsibilities within smaller teams.[4] Within these practice settings, they often contribute to medication administration and management and patient health education. The data below describe how MAs perform their roles in solo practices and contribute to the delivery of primary care in New York State.  

Compared to Other Practice Settings, MAs in Solo Practices are: 

  • More involved in helping patients set goals to manage chronic conditions (35% vs. 22% overall average). 
  • More involved in motivational interviewing to support health goals (46% vs. 33% overall average). 
  • Less involved in taking vital signs (82% vs. 96% overall average), while MAs in all other practice settings are universally involved (100%). 
  • Less involved in assisting with procedures such as suturing (48% vs. 69% overall average), with one of the largest differences between solo practices and other practice settings observed among activities. 
[4] MAs at solo practices also frequently support administrative activities (not depicted in infographics), with higher involvement in updating and filing patient records and insurance forms (56% vs. 38% overall average), assigning referrals and laboratory services (54% vs. 42% overall average), and completing hospital admission forms (32% vs. 24% overall average).

Methods and Limitations

  • Practice setting categories do not capture all distinctions (e.g., differences between independent and hospital-affiliated practices). 
  • This analysis focuses on MA activities related to clinical care, communication, patient education, and population health, and does not include administrative duties. 
  • Because New York State lacks a defined scope of practice for MAs, the survey list of activities was drawn from literature rather than a standardized policy, potentially underestimating MA contributions. 
  • Low response rates for Academic Outpatient Practices (n = 6) limit generalizability. 
  • Practice settings could self-identify as “other” (n = 4). These responses were included in the overall averages of MA activities across practice settings but not analyzed as a group, given the unspecified nature of these practice settings and the small number of responses.  
  • Geographic distribution may have influenced results; for example, most solo practice respondents were based in New York City, while FQHC respondents were largely upstate. 

Maternal Death in New York State (2014–2021)²⁴

Maternal death in New York is worsening overall, with the rate increasing from 17.8 deaths per 100,000 live births (2014–2018) to 20.5 (2019–2021)—an approximately 13% rise. While there was a slight improvement between 2015–2019 and 2016–2020, the most recent data (2018–2021) show a sharp increase in maternal deaths. 

[24] New York State aggregates maternal mortality rates over multi-year periods.

Maternal Death by Race/Ethnicity (2018–2021) 

Racial disparities are stark. Black women and birthing people experience maternal death rates of 65.2 deaths per 100,000 live births—more than four times higher than white women and birthing people (15.1). Maternal death rates for Hispanic women and birthing people, however, are lower (12.6) compared to white women and birthing people. 

Serious Maternal Complications by Race/Ethnicity (2020) 

There are also racial and ethnic disparities in serious complications related to childbirth. Black birthing New Yorkers experience the highest rates of severe complications, with 192.5 life-threatening incidents per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations—about 2.5 times higher than for white birthing people (77.9). Hispanic (130), Asian (121.4), and other birthing people (119.1) also experience higher rates of complications, 1.5 to 1.7 times that of white New Yorkers. 

Serious Maternal Complications by Income and Insurance Type (2020) 

There are notable differences in rates of serious complications related to childbirth by income. Birthing people in the lowest income quartile (median ZIP code income <$50,000) had the highest rate of severe maternal complications at 136.5 per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations, compared to 98.4 for those in the highest income quartile (>$86,000). Similarly, Medicaid-covered birthing people experience a higher rate of severe complications (127.3) than those with private insurance (98.6). In New York, 49.6% of Medicaid beneficiaries in 2021 were Black or Hispanic.²⁵ 

[25] University of Minnesota. SHADAC analysis of Health Insurance Coverage Type, statehealthcompare.shadac.org, accessed October 2024.
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