It would be wonderful if every physician could monitor the patient relationships of their front office and assure themselves that patients are always treated with respect and a helpful attitude. Unfortunately, this is more dream than reality and even the strongest administrator cannot always be at the front desk to hear every phone conversation or to make sure that follow-up appointments and confirmation calls are made in a timely manner.
Physicians know it is never easy to entrust your patients to anyone outside of the exam room, and the effect that your front office staff can have on your patient's perception of your practice can be the stuff of sleepless nights! While the investment you have made in your practice represents a large portion of your life and career, for many of your ancillary staff, your day to day operations are merely a job. It is difficult to motivate any staff day after day and despite your best efforts your staff may not always embrace a team work state of mind.
In the best case scenario, where your employees are dedicated to the daily grind of eight to ten hours of ringing phones, appointments, authorizations and referrals, practice burn out is a common thread that runs through many of even the best practices.
Fortunately, there are several options that can diminish the overwhelming tasks that are part and parcel of any front office staff. Several excellent companies are available in today's health care market that can make a large difference in your practice and help alleviate some of the front office tasks so that a greater concentration can be made to the revenue stream.
Options such as auto-confirmation calls have been adopted by many of the more successful practices. Choosing this option will mean that an independent firm will call your patients, usually via an electronic voice message, informing them of their appointment date and time and requesting that the patient press 1 to confirm their visit. Additional features, such as directions to the office, phone and fax number, and parking information can be added to these calls. Reminders to patients to have their insurance cards, co-payments and any referrals are also options you may consider. Your office will usually receive an
e-mail message confirming your appointments and cancellations, so that you can reschedule any missed or cancelled visits as soon as possible.
Features such as patient reminder cards and/or reminder calls can also be assigned to an outside agency and serve an important function in keeping your patient base current with their care. Some of these businesses may be able to access your actual scheduling software and confirm directly into your system. Just make sure that all PHI is protected by a contractual agreement that patient information cannot be shared or sold to any outside company. You may also want to add a feature to your HIPAA paperwork to make sure that it is acceptable to leave an appointment reminder on the patient's phone message.
You may also want to invest in a feature that will survey your patients on their office experience. Despite what you consider to be your best efforts in practice analysis, you may be surprised at the smallest of details that patients are noticing during their visit. Surveys can assess both the professional and ancillary staff and assist in employee and professional staff evaluation. A detailed spread sheet is often available as part of your contract that will highlight the positives and negatives of your patient experience.
The better companies that offer these features may also provide you with a monthly or quarterly report that will detail the number of cancellations and visits to your practice. These will prove to be an important part of your practice analysis and can help you identify and alleviate problems before they pose a significant threat to your practice revenue.
While you will want to assure that your front office staff has job descriptions that keep them busy and active each day, you want to guard against overwhelming them with tasks that may fall by the wayside. Keep in mind that maintaining those aspects of your practice that will guarantee optimum reimbursement are those that should always be in the forefront of your operation. Utilizing services that can free your ancillary staff to this goal can be the key to your future success.
Physicians know it is never easy to entrust your patients to anyone outside of the exam room, and the effect that your front office staff can have on your patient's perception of your practice can be the stuff of sleepless nights! While the investment you have made in your practice represents a large portion of your life and career, for many of your ancillary staff, your day to day operations are merely a job. It is difficult to motivate any staff day after day and despite your best efforts your staff may not always embrace a team work state of mind.
In the best case scenario, where your employees are dedicated to the daily grind of eight to ten hours of ringing phones, appointments, authorizations and referrals, practice burn out is a common thread that runs through many of even the best practices.
Fortunately, there are several options that can diminish the overwhelming tasks that are part and parcel of any front office staff. Several excellent companies are available in today's health care market that can make a large difference in your practice and help alleviate some of the front office tasks so that a greater concentration can be made to the revenue stream.
Options such as auto-confirmation calls have been adopted by many of the more successful practices. Choosing this option will mean that an independent firm will call your patients, usually via an electronic voice message, informing them of their appointment date and time and requesting that the patient press 1 to confirm their visit. Additional features, such as directions to the office, phone and fax number, and parking information can be added to these calls. Reminders to patients to have their insurance cards, co-payments and any referrals are also options you may consider. Your office will usually receive an
e-mail message confirming your appointments and cancellations, so that you can reschedule any missed or cancelled visits as soon as possible.
Features such as patient reminder cards and/or reminder calls can also be assigned to an outside agency and serve an important function in keeping your patient base current with their care. Some of these businesses may be able to access your actual scheduling software and confirm directly into your system. Just make sure that all PHI is protected by a contractual agreement that patient information cannot be shared or sold to any outside company. You may also want to add a feature to your HIPAA paperwork to make sure that it is acceptable to leave an appointment reminder on the patient's phone message.
You may also want to invest in a feature that will survey your patients on their office experience. Despite what you consider to be your best efforts in practice analysis, you may be surprised at the smallest of details that patients are noticing during their visit. Surveys can assess both the professional and ancillary staff and assist in employee and professional staff evaluation. A detailed spread sheet is often available as part of your contract that will highlight the positives and negatives of your patient experience.
The better companies that offer these features may also provide you with a monthly or quarterly report that will detail the number of cancellations and visits to your practice. These will prove to be an important part of your practice analysis and can help you identify and alleviate problems before they pose a significant threat to your practice revenue.
While you will want to assure that your front office staff has job descriptions that keep them busy and active each day, you want to guard against overwhelming them with tasks that may fall by the wayside. Keep in mind that maintaining those aspects of your practice that will guarantee optimum reimbursement are those that should always be in the forefront of your operation. Utilizing services that can free your ancillary staff to this goal can be the key to your future success.
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