Policies are rules that tell employees the day-to-day workings of the medical office. Policies will vary from office to office, but there are several policies that are used in most medical offices. The physician and/or management staff create the policies and procedures of the office. Examples include office hours, dress code, job descriptions, duties of the staff, vacation, sick time, salary, bookkeeping, scheduling system used for appointments, and how mail is handled. An office manual of established policies and procedures should be available to all employees to review. Standard procedures would be explained in detail in this manual along with clinical procedures and quality assurance measures. An example of an office policy would be a written explanation of the format for a medical record for a new patient. The medical assistant may be asked to update and maintain the policy and procedure manual for the office. It is a good practice to review this manual and make necessary changes and additions on a yearly basis or more often if the nature of the practice changes.