University Archives

Evaluating the Effect of Virtual Medical Assistants on Productivity and Patient Satisfaction in an Outpatient Practice

Brandon Anton, DO1; John Paul Sabbagh BS Candidate4;Angelica Habib BS3;Justin Anton BS Candidate2; Meriam Shamon BS Candidate5; Sarah Tims, BS2; Jaden Anton BS Candidate2; and Brandon Karmo, MD1

1Department of Family Medicine; 2Wayne State University; 3 Michigan State University; 4 University of Detroit Mercy; 5 Oakland University

Background: Efficient clinic workflows are essential for optimizing patient throughput and clinician productivity in outpatient practices. Workforce shortages and rising demand for care have intensified pressure on primary care systems. Virtual medical assistant (MA) models may improve intake efficiency while offering flexible staffing structures that help bridge workforce gaps and expand access to care. However, comparative real-world data evaluating virtual versus traditional MA workflows remain limited. This study evaluated the impact of a virtual MA workflow on clinic efficiency and patient satisfaction compared with a traditional in-person MA model in an outpatient family medicine clinic.

Methods: This mixed prospective and retrospective study was conducted in a single outpatient family medicine clinic. The prospective arm included 100 adult patients managed using a virtual MA workflow, and the retrospective arm included 100 adult patients managed using a traditional in-person MA workflow from prior Tuesday clinic sessions. The primary outcome was time to provider-ready status, defined as minutes from check-in to electronic medical record documentation indicating readiness for the clinician. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction assessed via post-visit Likert-scale survey in the virtual MA group. An exploratory outcome evaluated differences between intake and physician recheck systolic blood pressure in the virtual MA group. Statistical comparisons were performed using appropriate parametric and non-parametric methods.

Results: The virtual MA workflow was associated with significantly shorter time to provider-ready status compared with the traditional workflow (5.7 ± 3.4 minutes vs 7.7 ± 2.8 minutes; p=0.00001). In the virtual cohort, 79% of participants reported the highest overall satisfaction rating (5/5), and 78% reported the highest medical assistant satisfaction rating. Mean patient-measured systolic blood pressure during intake was 132.5 ± 20.0 mmHg compared with 122.7 ± 13.8 mmHg on physician recheck (p=0.00008). This difference is consistent with expected clinical variation, as blood pressure often decreases after a longer seated rest period.

Conclusions: Implementation of a virtual MA workflow was associated with improved workflow efficiency while maintaining high patient satisfaction. Virtual MA models may represent a scalable strategy to enhance clinic operations while supporting workforce flexibility and access to care. Further studies across diverse practice environments are warranted.