• Jessica L Friedman and Dana Neutze.
• From Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (JLF, DN). jessica_friedman@med.unc.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2020 May 1; 33 (3): 426-430.

IntroductionPrimary care clinics increasingly hire medical assistants (MAs) to perform a variety of clinical and administrative tasks. Anecdotal reports suggest that MA turnover is high, but no studies to date have calculated the rate or cost of MA turnover. The purpose of this study was to calculate the rate of MA turnover and associated costs in a single, large academic Family Medicine clinic.MethodsRetrospective data were collected from clinic administrators regarding MA turnover, overtime worked, salaries and benefits as well as administrator salaries and benefits and the amount of administrator time spent in MA hiring, training, and termination in 2017.ResultsDuring 2017, MA turnover rate was 59%. The total estimated cost of MA turnover was $213,000. The per-MA cost of turnover was $14,200, or approximately 40% of the average annual salary of MAs.ConclusionTurnover rate in this practice was similar to other estimates of primary care clinic staff and allied health professionals. The estimated cost of MA turnover relative to annual salary was significantly greater than that in other fields, likely reflecting the costs of training MAs. Establishing a method for calculating the turnover rate and costs can allow other healthcare systems to better describe turnover and evaluate retention strategies.© Copyright 2020 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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