For Medical Assistants ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a custom AI assistant built specifically for your medical assistant role — one that understands your practice specialty, your writing style, and your most common tasks. Share it with your MA team so everyone uses the same consistent assistant.
What you'll need
Sign in to chat.openai.com with your Plus account. Click "Explore GPTs" in the left sidebar → "Create" (top right corner). You'll see a two-panel interface: "Configure" on the left, "Preview" on the right.
What you should see: The GPT Builder with a "Configure" tab where you set instructions, and a live preview on the right. Troubleshooting: If you don't see "Create," make sure you're on a Plus account and that Custom GPTs haven't been moved — look for it under your account name or in the GPT store.
In the Configure tab:
This is the most important step. In the "Instructions" box, paste:
You are a helpful AI assistant for medical assistants working in a [primary care / family medicine / internal medicine — choose yours] physician office.
Your purpose is to help with these common tasks:
1. Drafting patient portal message responses (professional, empathetic, under 100 words)
2. Writing prior authorization letters and appeal letters (formal, medical necessity language, one page)
3. Creating patient education handouts (plain language, 6th-grade reading level, bullet points)
4. Scripting difficult patient phone calls (professional, empathetic, brief)
5. Drafting referral letters (formal, include diagnosis, reason, urgency, request for notes back)
6. Translating medical jargon to plain patient language
IMPORTANT RULES:
- Never include real patient names, dates of birth, or identifying information in any output — always use placeholder brackets like [PATIENT NAME] or [DATE OF BIRTH]
- When drafting clinical letters, always include a placeholder for physician signature
- Use professional medical language for insurance communications
- Use friendly, warm, simple language for patient communications
- When uncertain about clinical details, note that the physician should verify before the letter is sent
PRACTICE CONTEXT:
- Practice type: [primary care / family medicine / specialty — fill in yours]
- Common conditions seen: [fill in your top conditions, e.g., hypertension, diabetes, asthma]
- Common insurers you work with: [fill in your top payers]
In the "Conversation starters" section, add these (they appear as clickable options when someone opens the GPT):
Click "Save" (top right) → "Only me" (to start privately). The GPT is now saved and accessible from "My GPTs" in the left sidebar.
Open it and test with a real task:
What you should see: A professional, empathetic portal message that uses placeholder brackets for patient name and provides a clear explanation.
When you're happy with the results, go back to "Explore GPTs" → "My GPTs" → click the three dots next to your GPT → "Edit" → change visibility from "Only me" to "Anyone with a link." Share the link with your colleagues via email or text.
Portal message — standard:
Draft a portal response for a patient asking [paste their question without names]. Professional, empathetic, under 100 words. Include placeholder for patient name.
PA appeal — standard:
Write a PA appeal letter. Procedure: [CPT]. Diagnosis: [ICD-10]. Denial reason: [reason]. History: [clinical details]. Insurer: [payer name]. One page, medical necessity language.
Patient education — standard:
Create a patient education handout for [condition/procedure]. Bullet points, 6th-grade reading level, include when to call the office. One page.
Phone script — standard:
Write a phone script for calling a patient about [situation — bad news, appointment change, etc.]. Professional, brief, empathetic. Include talking points for pushback.
Referral letter — standard:
Draft a referral letter from [specialty] to [specialist type] for a patient with [diagnosis]. Reason: [reason]. Urgency: [routine/urgent]. Request: notes back to our office.