Why is demand for medical assistants (and therefore the medical assistant salary) on the rise? In fact, there is not a single reason. Some of them have to do with demographic changes, while others have to do with restructuring of the workplace. In this article, I will discuss the reasons why they have been in greater demand over the last decade or so:

#1 - A Greying Population: The population is getting older. Basically, the birth rate has been getting steadily lower since the Second World War (with the exception of a slight echo in the early Seventies). As a result, the proportion of the population that is younger is getting steadily lower, while the proportion that is older is getting higher. Older people need more health care, so there is a greater demand for any health service.

#2 - Increased Use of Computers: More and more, computers are used in health care, and health care workers need people who are trained in medical computer technology as well as have a basic understanding of health care. This is precisely the combination of traits that CMAs are trained in.

#3 - More Flexible Clinics: Nurses are more expensive to hire than medical assistants, and more and more health care is being done in smaller, private clinics. Many of these clinics can't really afford a nurse, so they turn to medical assistants instead. In addition, these clinics get someone who can manage their books as well.

#4 - Insurance Complexity: Medical insurance in the United States has always been complex, and it has only become more so. More and more, health care providers need people trained both to deal with insurance forms, but who are still an asset in other ways. They are able to do both of these things.

As a result, medical assistant jobs and the medical assistant salary have been increasing a great deal over the last ten years. If it is a field you are considering, you are entering into one of America's fastest growing professions.