Healthcare Archives

Front Desk Executives Do More for Healthcare than You Might Think (Content Princess)

When considering a medical practice’s most outstanding employee, bust people believe that would be the doctor. However, this may not be as accurate as you might think. The doctor has received the most education and has more privileges than, generally, any other employee of the practice.

However, it is important to realise that you end up spending more face time with other types of staff. When you consider where your impression of the team for a healthcare facility comes from, you may realise that you interact more with the following professionals:

Nurses
Techs
Front Desk Executives

The front desk executive, out of all the employees as mentioned above, probably leaves the largest impact on the patients’ perceptions of the business.

First Impressions

A person makes their first impression about a person or a place within 0.03 second of seeing that person or place. The funny thing about first impressions is that they are extremely hard to change.

The front desk executive is the patient’s first contact at the office. These professionals provide patients with their first taste of the office staff. If the front office manager is rude and distant, the patient is likely going to maintain a negative opinion about the practice.

Front desk managers can impact the attitude of the patient for their entire visit. If they keep a positive attitude, then the patient is more likely to leave with a favourable opinion of the office. More than that, however, engaging with patients in this way from the beginning helps ensure that they have a pleasant experience all the way through the visit.

Think about when you first wake up in the morning. If one thing happens at the beginning of your day, something as simple as being unable to find the shoes you wanted to wear, can make you irritable and make the rest of the day a horrible experience. The same happens with a patient’s experience with the front desk clerk.

A Little Bit of Everything

Front desk executives also, arguably, have the most responsibilities of anyone in the office. On top of the fact that they may be the staff member that has the most contact with patients, they also are responsible for a lot of things that ensure the healthcare agency runs smoothly. Some of the duties that a front desk executive in healthcare is responsible for include:

Acting as a Receptionist
Gathering information from patients
Billing
Coding
Scheduling Appointments
Being able to use office equipment

These professionals engage in many receptionist duties. They are responsible for greeting patients as they enter the building, answering any questions or concerns that patients have initially, answering phones, telling patients where they should go (if they need to go elsewhere) and keeping the front part of the agency tidy.

They also verify the information provided by the patient and typically are the ones responsible for handing out new patient forms.

Front desk executives are also responsible for collecting a patient’s copay, dealing with insurance claims, and (sometimes) assigning the costs that correspond to the object of the visit. These executives are also responsible for scheduling appointments and making appointments when patients are referred elsewhere.

On top of all this, they may be required to fax documents, copy relevant paperwork, print labels, operate a phone system that contains numerous lines, and other general computer system tasks.

Multiple front desk executives are further assigned any duty that is not assigned to someone else which means they may have to take out the trash and clean the bathrooms as well.

Training

Because of the many duties held by front desk executives, it is critical that they are well trained in how to do their jobs adequately. They not only give the patients their first impression of the establishmentbut are also responsible for ensuring everything is organised and running smoothly. Most front desk executives should receive the following when they begin working in a healthcare facility:

Some formal training with a knowledgeable trainer.
Clear policies that define their role within the business.
The regular meeting to discuss new things that need to be done or reinforce the training that they have already received.

Attitude

The most important aspect about the front desk executive is their attitude. They have numerous responsibilities, and the job itself can feel overwhelming and stressful. However, it is critical that the front office manager has a positive attitude.

These executives are a direct reflection of the practice. It cannot be stressed enough that these employees provide the first impression of the office staff to patients. Many times, patients complain more about the front office executive than any other member of a healthcare agency.

For this reason, the best front desk managers strive always to conduct themselves the following ways.

Treating everyone with kindness and empathy.
Doing everything they can to go to ensure patients are happy and everything runs smoothly.
Trying to anticipate what the patients may need (such as tissues or hand sanitizer) and have it readily available.
Always seeking to engage and interact with patients and showing interest in what the patients are saying.
Always maintain a calm demeanour.
Smile constantly.
Know about the surrounding area and have some basic information about the office patients may be referred to.
Creative, you never know what might be needed.
Energetic and happy to be there.

References:

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/patients-no-1-complaint-front-desk-staff.html

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/front-desk-training-tips-medical-offices-21512.html

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/front-desk-duties-doctors-offices-10136.html

http://www.rxeconsult.com/healthcare-articles/How-Important-is-the-Front-Desk-of-a-Medical-Practice-549/

http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Article/Importance-of-the-Front-Desk.aspx

Do you have Diabetes? Seven Tips to Take Better Care of your Feet During Winters (Rank Princess – SEO)

Did you know that if you have diabetes, you are more prone to feet related problems than a person without diabetes? This is because diabetes damages your body’s nerves and constraints blood flow to and from your feet. Failing to take proper care of your foot may even lead to serious complications! But do not panic, as here are some wonderful tips and secrets to keep your feet safe from these imminent dangers especially during those colder days.

The Easy Bit

Make sure you take care of your feet using basic hygienic procedures-Wash your feet with soap and dry them off immediately on a daily basis. This can do more than you think.

Not only does this regulates your foot’s circulatory system, but also prevents harmful infections from occurring through possible cuts in your feet.

Since you are constantly and inevitably in contact with the dirty ground, there is a higher chance that harmful bacteria may enter your body through your feet.

Analysing Your Feet

Damp and moist winters are the bacteria’s favourite time. So you might have to be a bit more careful about your feet.

Constantly checking your feet for scratches, moles, blister, etc., can go a long way regarding identifying an imminent problem before hand so that you may be able to counter the threats immediately.

It is important to watch for ingrown toenails as they are a bacteria hotspot too.

Also, analysing your foot means, not stressing your foot out while doing strenuous feet related tasks like walking the treadmill. It is not a healthy thing to do if your feet are in such a condition.

This being said, make sure to cover your foot up with socks or slippers. Never decide to wing it and go barefoot.

Change Is a Good Thing

Wearing something protective over your feet during winters is very useful in protecting them as opposed to going barefoot. It is also very crucial to regularly change your socks or wash your slippers because bacterial build-up in your feet is in a way quite literally “Shooting yourself in the foot”!

When to See A Doctor

Knowing when to stop self-analysing things is paramount.

While most of the times, seeking professional help is unnecessary, it is important to know when to schedule an appointment with your doctor so he/she may have a closer look at the problems you are facing.

Prevention is always better than cure, so a monthly visit to the doctor to check up on those feet will be worth it.

Some common “Doctor-Visit Worth” symptoms are skin blackening, redness, ingrown toenails, bunions, and general infections of any sort.

Wiggle.Wiggle.Wiggle

Don’t forget to shake your feet a little to keep that circulatory system kicking.

Blood flow is very important for your feet, and an individual without diabetes will not have a problem with their blood reaching their foot as gravity is working for them, but a diabetes patient will have the extra countering of tighter nerves that construct blood flow especially during the colder days.

Walking is also a good natural way of stimulating some much-needed blood movements in your feet.

Reading Is Not Enough

Though it might seem a little too simple, whatever you just read is not being followed by most people with diabetes, and as a result, they miss out on any chances of preventing something dangerous from happening to their feet.

Rest assured; these are all basic tips that if followed can decrease the chance of your feet getting affected due to your diabetes drastically.

The best part about it is that it costs nothing extra. All it takes is for you to pay a little more attention to your feet every day.

LSI KEYWORDS:

Diabetic foot care

Winter foot care

Feet bacteria prevention

Winter diabetic feet care

Feet blood circulation

Feet maintaining winter

Importance Of Front Desk Executives In Healthcare Establishments (Content Strategi)

Most medical practices and hospitals are understandably very busy places. Patients might have all sorts of problems, but doctors don’t have time to deal with non-medical problems. Hence, it becomes vital that there are efficient front desk executives to help deal with these issues and queries. In general, they greatly aid in the smooth functioning of the establishment.

Some of the specific ways in which they help are as follows:

Scheduling Appointments Accurately

Front desk executives or receptionists are entrusted with the vital responsibility of scheduling all appointments with the doctor. In a way, they are running the healthcare establishment.

This can be done by maintaining a physical diary or a computer record of patients’ requests. After referencing the doctors’ free hours, they need to assign patients certain times and numbers.

They thus need to have unquestionable organisational skills. They also need to be able to comfortably make their way around a computer. Specifically, they may need good word processing and spreadsheet skills.

It’s incredibly important to schedule appointments without irregularities, for obvious reasons. Health is an important issue, and to serve as many people as possible, scheduling needs perfection. Moreover, patients never like to wait unnecessarily for hours.

Building Rapport With The Patients

Before they meet the doctor, the front desk receptionist is the patients’ access point to the medical facility. They go to them for answers to any questions or doubts they might have. Thus receptionists need to project a kind and friendly demeanour at all times.

Occasionally, patients have very serious problems. These can be diseases like vitiligo, albinism, or others which might affect the patients’ self-confidence. Some diseases like STDs might be very embarrassing to admit and talk about, especially to a stranger. Just look at this example.

Thus the executive has to be considerate in dealing with the patients. They need to understand the sensitivity that a situation may demand and act accordingly.

Even in other, less serious situations, patients can be understandably concerned and hurried. It is the receptionist’s job to be patient with the people, no matter what their questions are.

This is important because it affects the general atmosphere of the facility, especially the waiting room. A positive and amiable receptionist can make patients feel instantly at ease, while the opposite can do much damage.

And this atmosphere affects the chances of patients coming back to the establishment. So from the point of view of the doctors or managers, hiring a pleasant and efficient front desk executive is of the essence.

Handling Billing Related Queries

Doubts about the bill can be more common than you expect and sensitive issues in themselves. Medicines and visits to the doctor are admittedly costly, and they aren’t getting any cheaper. Given this context, it isn’t surprising that people want to clarify even the slightest financial query.

Receptionists are in charge of this as well. They need to be able to maintain impeccable records of the bills, how much each patient was charged, and if the patient bought any medicines from there. Again, organisational and computer skills are an asset.

Patients need to be given copies of the bill to ensure there are no communication gaps.

And most importantly, if anyone does have doubt, the receptionist should be understanding and calm in resolving the issue.

This is incredibly vital because if financial queries aren’t adequately addressed or looked into, patients will feel that they are being ripped off. This breaks the trust between the healthcare provider and the patient. And no one will entrust their well-being to someone they don’t trust.

And yet, once again, we see how the receptionist can have a great and lasting impact on the number of patients coming or returning to the healthcare establishment.

Getting The Patients’ Medical Records Ready For The Doctors

The current situation of healthcare in the country is that every medical practitioner and the hospital is swarmed with people with diseases misleadingly ‘benign’ and frustratingly ‘common’. One cannot stress enough how important it is to advise as many patients as possible per day.

To do this, the doctor-patient time needs to be limited to only the necessary stuff. Only the advice and the questions. Other stuff like showing medical records can be dealt with by the front desk staff to increase efficiency.

They need to take the patients’ medical records, decide with the patient what is relevant to their present condition, and make a modified list. And this relevant, efficient medical history is then passed to the doctor when it’s their turn.

This effectively utilises the waiting time. But one also needs to understand the nuances of this task.

A patient’s medical history is among the most private information about themselves. And it’s difficult to share it with someone who’s not your doctor. So receptionists need to be understanding and approachable.

Keeping The Reception Organised And Presentable

As the old cliché goes, the first impression is the last impression. While the veracity of this statement is questionable, one must indeed admit that first impressions tend to last.

Patients need to feel comfortable at the healthcare establishment. This includes the reception, waiting room, doctor’s office, test room, and others. The whole idea behind a hospital or medical practice is to help people and solve their problems, and discomfort can hamper the process.

Since the doctors are concerned with the medical aspect of the process, this job too falls into the already full hands of the receptionist. They have to make sure that the reception area is organised, clean, presentable and aesthetically calming.

If you’ve noticed any paediatrician’s office, there are often pictures of cartoons and other fun stuff kids like. That’s all under the receptionist’s management – they need to create a welcoming atmosphere.

Summarising

So, in a nutshell, while the doctor’s job is to treat the patients, it is the receptionist’s job to make them feel at home. And since the multiplicity of doctors has often meant the patients have options, it can be easily argued that a responsible receptionist could make all the difference.

Medicine and health is a serious issue. And their job requires front desk executives to be caring, kind, polite, calm, patient, well-organised, and more. It is, to make an understatement, no mean task.

References:

LSI Keywords: healthcare establishment, healthcare provider, front desk executives, front desk staff, front desk receptionist

Importance of Front Desk Executives in HealthCare (Rank Princess)

Behind the scenes of “hello, how are you today?”Let’s discover what importance they hold in a healthcare establishment. In havens of life and death, where people are whispering prayers, holding onto dear life, or are pitifully mourning their loss, what is formidable to note is how significantly insignificant these front desk executives seem. Where doctors are deities and their devotees follow them like the earth to the sun, it is almost catastrophic to see how conveniently these executives are ignored.

Let’s have a look at this list of duties that they perform day to day, even when they go unnoticed.

Building a Good Rapport

When you first enter a healthcare establishment, the first person you meet is a front desk employee, generally called a receptionist that meets and greets you. Without them, a hospital is incomplete and unimpressive. Thus, it is the duty and responsibility of the front desk personnel to create a good rapport with the individuals walking in. A long lasting impression would bring in more footfall to the organisation, thus bringing in business.

Filling Forms

There are a variety of distinct forms to be filled in healthcare. From blood-group to insurance, there are a lot of information checks that go into getting to know the patient. Things like family history or medical conditions often confuse the people at large.

With a lot of patients and relatives, comes certain language barriers or sometimes the information isn’t clear. This is where the front office employees come in handy. They are well-versed with the forms and thus understand what goes where. This in-turn gives the customer a better understanding of the form.

Prompt Solutions to Customer

It is like second nature for a front office associate to handle customer grievances. The personnel at the job knows the place in and out. Thus it is easy for them to guide the customer immediately. They are the ones with perfect insight about the establishment and are thus perfect navigators of the organisation.

Fixing up Appointments

Besides maintaining a sunny smile, their job also includes maintaining a calendar. They are like PAs to each and every doctor. Scheduling the right time with the right doctor is a tad bit like management. So they understand the patient’s problem, come up with a doctor’s name and schedule the time that suits the customer. It may seem like a cake-walk, but it’s a bit like math.

Issue Invoice and Collect Payments

It is one of the most important jobs of the front desk executives to collect payments. First and foremost an invoice is generated, which allows the customer to know what costs how much. The treatments and medications are clearly mentioned on the invoice so formed. The personnel compile all the services provided by the organisation and then focus on getting payment.

Confidence building &Comfort Induction

The front desk executives are the first impression of an organisation. Thus, they are the confidence generators that boost a sense of comfort and relief. If the first impression is lousy, nobody would want to be treated in that place. More than the patient, it is important to nurture the relatives because they shall be able to trust you with the lives of a close one. Comfort is automatically induced if the patient is treated well.

Link-Pin between Patient and Doctor

The front desk executive is the key link-pin between the doctor and the patient. The personnel in question jots down appointments for the patient and forwards the patient’s profile to the doctor. It is because of the front office employee that the patient is prioritised. It gives the doctor more treatment time rather than first familiarising, entertaining and then treating.

Saving Time

It is because of the front office personnel that the patients head in at the prescribed time. The patients know where and when to visit which doctor only because of the front desk workers.

On the other hand, it also saves the doctor’s time as the doctors also know when and who to attend with what diagnosis.

Maintaining Paperwork and Keeping Record

The front office employees keep background histories clearly stocked under the patient names. Their work includes maintenance of treatment history of recurring patients or creation of a new database for the new ones. These records are of utmost importance to the doctor because it mentions the medical history of the patient for diagnosis and prognosis.

The paperwork may or may not be physically written. So lately, with technology supporting us, Excel spreadsheets are the new requirement for maintaining such paperwork. Thus these employees are academically adept with skills like Microsoft Office and Excel.

Distributing Mail

A front-desk employee is the one that sorts mail directed towards different departments. They eliminate the ones that don’t need attention but are quick on their feet incase of an emergency crops up. It is purely their job to distribute the mail to the right person in the right department, thus running things smoothly in order.

Customer Satisfaction

It may seem that it is the doctor’s duty to satisfy the patient, but what is always never seen is the fact that how the front desk executives are the one that make the whole process a lot easier. They create a comfortable vibe for the patient, they create positive energy for the relatives, and they create a humble aura amongst the individuals. It is because of them that the close ones are calm and at peace. They make the nightmare almost pleasant.

Conclusion about the Sunny-Smile

Front-desk Executives have a huge role to play. They are the backbones of the organisation which allows the whole body to function properly. Besides having Rose-Cheeked smiles and a pleasant personality, their job is a bit tough. They have to be the bright sunshine for others even if they might be going through turmoil inside. They need to work like a clock for the doctor and the patients. They are almost like mathematicians trying to fix appointments and maintaining Excel spreadsheets.

They are the ones with the insight of a genius and the warm touch of an angel.

Importance of front desk executives in healthcare establishments (Rank Princess)

There are many vaunted roles in the healthcare industry that often get their due credit, but at the same time, innumerable others are toiling every day for little or no recognition of their hard work. Below is an insight into how the front desk executives can change the picture of a healthcare organisation.

Front desk executives are paramount in the healthcare sector, more so than anywhere else. But often enough they are either completely ignored or their contributions largely discounted. These people work at the front desks and receptions of our hospitals, clinics, and even the local general physician’s chambers.

Patients usually get frightened of the unknown the moment they enter the waiting room of a hospital or a clinic. The only way to get through this is a warm and welcoming figure that would gladly receive you and welcome you into the hospital.

Learn from the hotel business

This is where the healthcare industry should take a cue from the hospitality industry.

To most people, front desk executives are representative of the whole organisation, and it is paramount that the person is seen to be trustworthy and reassuring and that they exude confidence, something that will be reflected in the organisation as well.
A lot of people feel that the first interaction once you get past the gate is important, and it leaves a taste in the mouth that lasts long after that initial interaction phase is complete. This is why it is important to remember that the front desk’s duty is far more than simply answering the phone.

Increasing privatisation of health care has reduced the bedside manner of most professionals, and meeting deadlines and reaching targets has become the norm in the industry. So this increases the need for professionals who will single-mindedly tend to patient’s comfort, over and above the care provided by doctors.

A little story

Going beyond patient needs, another important duty of front desk executives is to keep the office running smoothly. An example would carefully illustrate the necessity of the ubiquitous front desk staff at hospitals and clinics.

A famous nephrologist in the city usually sees up to a hundred odd patients every week, at his house as well as at an upscale nursing home. His visiting hours at the upscale nursing home are well managed and almost always on time and never late.

However, it’s a completely different story at his home.

Patients often have to wait for over six to eight hours despite having made an appointment over a fortnight in advance. The scheduling system is medieval with queues formed on the day of the visit, all of which contributes to a collective pandemonium.

The moral of this short story was the sharp contrast in the two operations. They were both run by the same doctor and had the same level of professional healthcare being catered to patients.

So, where was the problem? The difference was in the way the office space was managed, and the paperwork was taken care off.

This is exactly where the role of front desk executives comes in, and we get to understand how important this role is in the larger scheme of things.

Areas to Monitor For satisfactory services

Three important places where the front desk acts in the most efficient manner to keep the whole hospital as well the healthcare industry functioning are:

Billing and Coding

Billing and payments are probably the most integral and undervalued part of any hospital. Copayments and insurance papers often have the whole industry on tenterhooks and lives can depend on this.

Most hospitals and healthcare providers depend on insurance paperwork to get through on time even before they go ahead with the most minor of operations on patients. An important thing to remember is that insurance companies often have different codes or formulae based on which they decide if the claim is worth processing or not and the execution of this lies solely with healthcare front desk employee.

This is again, one of the many duties that front desk employees in the healthcare industry take on.

Making Appointments

The example above spelt out exactly how important the role of the front desk is in scheduling appointments and managing the whole office on a timetable. But it goes far beyond even that.

The front desk is brilliant when it comes to pro-actively helping patients find the correct doctor or mapping patient problems to certain specialisations and doctors in that field. Most patients do not walk into the hospital with all knowledge at their fingertips.

They need a lot of help in navigating the list of visiting doctors and deciding who is best suited for their immediate problems. This is where the role of the front desk employee gains more prominence.

Outside of mapping patients to employees, these people are also instrumental in ensuring that patients get to cut through all the bureaucratic red tape and reach their final destination on time. This is something that daunts most patients’ families and dear ones.

Minor Office Equipment Usage

Hospitals are getting more high tech day by day, and you need efficient and smart people to be able to operate office equipment that most doctors don’t bother to learn and also, do not have any real need to learn or understand. A well-oiled front desk can take care of all photocopying, calling and printing needs that anyone in the hospital might have.

Add to this a basic knowledge of how most primary healthcare equipment works, and you get the perfect front office assistant working right for you.

X-Ray machines and the like are easy to operate and having a healthy knowledge of the same only adds to the indispensability of the front desk executives.

The crux of the matter is that hospitals, over and above their primary role in providing quality healthcare, also need to perform the all-important function of acting as an office to hundreds and thousands of people on a regular basis.

The smooth running of an office very desperately requires adept functioning and smooth running of the bureaucracy. In all of this, the front desk is a vital cog in the whole machine.

Primary Keyword: Front Desk Executives

LSI Keywords: healthcare establishments, healthcare organisation, privatisation of health care, front desk staff at hospitals, hospitals and healthcare providers, healthcare front desk employee, well-oiled front desk

Category: Healthcare

Front Desk Executives Do More for Healthcare than You Might Think (Content Princess)

Do you have Diabetes? Seven Tips to Take Better Care of your Feet During Winters (Rank Princess – SEO)

Importance Of Front Desk Executives In Healthcare Establishments (Content Strategi)

Importance of Front Desk Executives in HealthCare (Rank Princess)

Importance of front desk executives in healthcare establishments (Rank Princess)

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