As with other irregularities, patients who change appointments without adequate notice or justification must be tactfully reminded of office policy else the practice would be contributing to the patient's delinquency and help to establish a negative habit pattern. Appointment Cards. It creates a warm impression when your assistant replies to the call, rather than waiting for the caller to make a second effort to reach your office. Management of Incoming Mail First, the doctor who makes an appointment for a patient without informing the assistant is committing a definite breach of good communications and staff relations. Petty cash should be placed in a safe, and all necessary vaults, cabinets, desk drawers, and files that have locks should be secured. Sometimes a concerned relative, neighbor, or coach of a patient will call seeking information. Whenever patients report their progress via the telephone, their comments (dated) should be noted by the assistant in the patients' records. Emergencies do happen, and they cannot always be avoided. Most doctors, however, prefer to have the incoming letter and its answer stapled together and filed under the name of the incoming letter's author or company. Establish a rapport. Utility companies 5. explain patient instructions thoroughly. Each call is something special to the caller and should be handled as such. CONTROLS INVENTORY LISTS Were the case history, examination, and case plan presented in a professional manner? Subconsciously, many fear making specific plans. * Warm, welcoming tone Roentgenologic referrals/consultants Interest in a patient's progress, family, and hobbies is appreciated. They also like to hear several "Thank you's." Both of these functions must be taken seriously as a large investmentis often involved. Likewise, you must expect the patient to cooperate by following your recommendations. If a controlled purchasing system is not in effect, it is good policy to initial all statements or invoices prior to payment. An assistant should immediately place the patient in a private room and discreetly inform you of the situation. Clinical Files. If there are too many exceptions, satisfying the needs of a few may be detrimental to the needs of the majority. Once the examination profiles the patient's structural and functional status and a diagnosis is arrived at, therapies can be designed to assist the patient in returning to as near a state of health as possible. For whatever nonemergency reason you must make a housecall, your assistant should schedule them to your convenience and in the most efficient manner (eg, grouped by geographic area). ultrasound US Your assistant's good judgment is necessary to determine whether a patient's request for an immediate appointment is a true emergency or not. As there is always a degree of uncertainty when a change is made from established procedures, limit changes to those areas that distinctly warrant improvement. anatomy Chapter 20 Radiology and nuclear medi, John Lund, Paul S. Vickery, P. Scott Corbett, Todd Pfannestiel, Volker Janssen, Byron Almen, Dorothy Payne, Stefan Kostka, Eric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self. Most people with a legitimate reason will identify themselves and their suspicions. An 869-page book, for example, may be reduced to ten 4-inch x 6-inch cards, occupying only 1/8-inch file space. THE UNSCHEDULED WALK-IN On the first offense, the late patient only needs to be reminded that he is late and that the doctor will see him as soon as possible. (3) general correspondence, reports, reprints, legal documents, inventory sheets, etc. Telephone services and equipment have evolved rapidly during recent years. TIME PROBLEMS Procedural routines guard against forgetfulness, and most routines can be delegated to well-trained assistants. Change is vital to alter a destructive course or limiting policy, but change solely to do something different can easily create instability. As your assistants must work with and integrate specific policies and procedures each day, they are often in a position to offer constructive suggestions. When the mail is opened, care should be taken to assure that all contents have been removed from the envelope. The specified assistant alone should make and change all appointments according to the doctor's policies. As some patients write checks with a minimum of funds in the bank, all checks received should be processed and deposited daily. She should then tell the patient the total charges and open the receipt book in front of the patient. Most offices file strictly alphabetically by the patient's last name or subject of the topic to be filed. MEETINGS 1.2K views, 26 likes, 4 loves, 7 comments, 6 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from PTV: PANOORIN: Public Briefing #LagingHandaPH | April 18, 2023 five days following her procedure. In times of personal sickness or a vacation, records carry on in your absence. 3.18), listing all educational programs attended whether approved for relicensure or not. If the practitioner is lackadaisical, deficient in professional deportment and authority, does not take the time to adequately train his assistants or supervise their performance, he or she will find that patients will reflect this behavior in their attitudes toward the recommended appointment schedule. OPENING ROUTINES to maintain legal requirements regarding patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act, patients new to the practice should be asked to read and sign a HIPAA privacy notice outlining when and how their personal health information can be disclosed to another party and when it will not be. what type of appointment is most appropriate for this patient? During inventory counts, special attention should be paid to items that have a short shelf life such as nutritional supplements and sterile materials. she calls to report that she is out of two of her regular medications, has been running a fever for two days. Daily financial control sheets Be alert to the fact that many people become quickly irritated when their call is answered by a machine. a plastic bag. Word-Processing Equipment If you are a solo practitioner without support staff and handle all of your administrative activities yourself, you will have less need to document all of your administrative operations and your policies and procedures may focus primarily on office policies related to your clients and their records. Make eye contact when appropriate and help your patient feel comfortable with you. If you make prescheduled rounds of house visits, your assistant should prepare a daily routing list so that you need not crisscross the town after each visit. Why is the telephone important to the medical office? How many new patients you serve this week is not as important as how many satisfied patients you serve. The successful practice is one that truly recognizes the value of each patient. Their primary purpose is for activity and growth analyses, but they also serve as a cross-check against posting, billing, filing, and third-party reporting deficiencies. Accounts receivable procedures You may ask an assistant to check on certain patients' progress after treatment or to verify that your instructions have been carried out. The information garnered from each film (ie, the report) is legally regarded as the patient's property and as such may be given to the patient or to whomever is designated on a release authorization. In addition to obtaining the patient's correctly spelled name, address, telephone number, and the reason for the visit, it is important when a new patient calls for an appointment that your scheduling assistant ask the caller who referred him to the doctor. she will need to be in the hospital approx. That is, on a quarterly purchasing basis, a month's supply is retained in the work area and a 2 month's supply is kept in the central storage area to replenish the needs of the work areas. Welfare Department (local office) Thus, some offices have found it efficient to set aside an appropriate time or times during each working day for patients to call back or for the physician to return patients' calls. Daily Routines MANAGING INCOMPLETE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULES * Call Sources: appointments, first contact, treatment results, emergencies, referrals, discussing patients, laboratory reports, * Pleasant, friendly voice * Listen to voicemails This also mandates that needs are anticipated prior to special mailings that may suddenly increase patient volume. If yes, explain _____ TOBACCO Never Current Former Age of Onset . Newspapers Patient receipts Patients tend to view professional offices with a critical eye. You can not gain consent to catheterize without these three test results. Letters from patients or about patients' health status and laboratory and pathology reports of patients should be attached to the patient's clinical file. 7. telephone #'s If the patient still refuses an appointment, your assistant should let him know that she will pass on the message to you and that you may want to call him. Caller: How much does the doctor charge? Insurance companies (patients) An objective analysis should be made of your practice objectives, financial position, management capability, supervisory expertise, and personnel practices. Other people can read faxes, even if they are specifically sent to a certain person. A number of methods can be employed to keep telephone costs to a minimum. For further information, contact the Sales & Service Department of the American Chiropractic Association. Special situations You may request patients with acute or rapidly progressing conditions to report their daily progress. Special situations What are two tasks that need to be done to get ready for the day? X-ray ID cards. Filing with the clinical records is the common practice in solo practices. OFFICE HOURS There are two basic classifications of records: administrative records and clinical records. 3.29). Some types of sales or service positions require extensive or emergency traveling to meet customer needs. Financial arrangement form Office policies vary widely depending on the size of the practice, staff abilities, and the personal philosophy of the doctor involved. Minutes (Meetings) A list of backup professional help should also be at hand. I can probably be more helpful at another time, and then if there is any change in the doctor's schedule, I'll call you immediately." 5. patient's current phone#. * Sort emails: date, subject, sent, received, importance Some doctors have thriving practices in poor times, and some have meager practices in good times. How to use an email program such as Outlook, a word processing program such as Word, and a data entry program such as Excel, scheduling appointments and receiving patients, Scheduling Appointments and Receiving Patient, Julie S Snyder, Linda Lilley, Shelly Collins, Dutton's Orthopaedic: Examination, Evaluation and Intervention, MBE Practice Questions for Classes 1-4 (Secti. Each call should be answered promptly by an assistant. * Phone number Accounts payable procedures Of the three, staples are the best unless the papers must be separated. 2. maintain eye contact when talking. This takes discipline because life presents many distractions and invitations to procrastinate. A procedure explains a specific action plan for carrying out a policy. Common procedural pitfalls, mail and correspondence processing, personalized form letters, filing, reminder systems, follow-up systems, and typical reports are portrayed. If desired, they can be obtained pre-numbered. 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