Question

Medical assistants should take all of the following actions when opening mail, except

A. annotate mail with comments in the margin.

B. open the physician's personal mail.

C. date all opened mail.

D. transmit letters to the physician with the most important ones on the top.

E. check for enclosures.

Answer 1

Medical assistants should not open the physician's personal mail (Option B) as it is confidential, while other tasks like dating opened mail, transmitting important letters to the physician, and checking for enclosures are part of their duties.

Step-by-step explanation:

The action medical assistants should not take when opening mail is B. open the physician's personal mail. This is because personal mail is confidential and should only be opened by the intended recipient unless explicit permission has been granted. When processing mail, medical assistants are expected to:

• Check for enclosures to ensure that all parts of the correspondence are accounted for.
• Date all opened mail to record when it was received and processed.
• Transmit letters to the physician with the most important ones on the top, which helps prioritize the physician's response or action needed.

However, annotating mail with comments in the margin is not typically a recommended practice due to the professionalism required in handling correspondence within a medical office. Proper mail handling protocols are essential to maintain the efficient operation of a medical office and the privacy of communications.