Practice Management Articles

Administration/HR Tips on Selecting a Reputable Billing Company  Customer Service: The Real Competitive Edge  Managed Care Audit Tips and Checklist  Part-Time Work and Job Sharing  Motivating your Employees Keeping Negativity In the Workplace At Bay	Billing How Your State Insurance Commissioner Can Help  Going For the Gold Financial Management Basics Medicare Publishes Billing Edits to Reduce Payment Errors
Clinical Distribution of Sample Medications in the Practice Setting Health Care Quality Standards	Coding ICD-10 Where is it? When is it?  Close "E"ncounters of the Third Kind Incorrect use of Modifer 25 & 59 The Facts About Consultations"What You Need To Know"  Understanding Physician Supervision Levels Inpatient vs. Critical Care Consult Inpatient vs. Critical Care Consult
Collections Timely Tips for Collections  Finance Charges & Sending a Patient to Collection Making Collection Calls the Right Way Letter to the Editor Patient Collections: Retaining Patients, Even When They Owe	Legal & Compliance Reimbursement. Compliance. Overpayments. Auditing The Watchful Eye of the Government – Understanding The Office of Inspector General Work plan Are You "STILL" in Compliance With the "Hazard Communication Standard"? What You Don’t Know About OSHA Can Hurt You New Red Flag Rules to Target Identity Theft New Standards, Versions and Code Set for Electronic Transactions Begin January 2012. Will You Be Ready? Do The New Red Flag Rules Apply to Your Practice? What you need to know about this fast-approaching deadline
Management E-Prescribing plus PQRI could mean 5.5 percent Medicare pay boost in '09 "E" and Earn: Electronic Prescribing Goes Live in '09 Physician Marketing: Educating Current and Potential Patients PMI Certified Professional Shares Tips for Successful Office Management	Miscellaneous Did I Hear What I Think You Said?  Managing When the Stress Doesn't Go Away What Am I, A Machine? Part 1
Patient Relations CUSTOMER SERVICE: The Other Medical Specialty	Reimbursement Dude - Where's My Money?

CUSTOMER SERVICE: The Other Medical Specialty
Antonio Felices

Survey results printed in a national publication indicated that customers believe there to be a marked decrease in quality customer service over the last 5 years. Among the top 10 areas, the medical office ranked number four (4).

As healthcare professionals, we have the unique opportunity to impact every aspect of our patient's lives. We are involved throughout their growth and development, and in many cases, deal with intimate and confidential issues of which may lead to feelings of embarrassment, anger, withdrawal, denial and depression.

So why is customer service so important to a patient who goes to the doctor specifically for medical care? In order to understand the true meaning of customer service, let us first examine the words "Receptionist" and "Customer Service Specialist". It is a given that the suffix "-ist" suggests "expert" or "specialist" in reference to the preceding root word. For example, an "Oncologist" is a specialist or expert in "Oncology"; similarly, a "Cardiologist" is a specialist or expert in "Cardiology". Thus, given these examples, then "Receptionist" and a "Customer Service Specialist" suggest specialization and expertise in "Reception" and "Customer Service". It is quite apparent and no secret that our patients expect us to "diagnose" and "treat" their feelings and appeal to their senses accordingly. After all, the actual treatment of medical conditions and disease processes are relatively constant; however, the service to our customers (patients) is not. We must recognize that healthcare treatment is multi-faceted, and, with the changes in reimbursement and higher level of information available to the patient, customer service is becoming the source of keeping patients and conversely, losing them.

Here are a few steps in the right direction:

1. Remember! 93% of all communication is non-verbal. Recognize changes in your patient's behavior and/or sudden changes in attitude. Don't assume that they are just mean or rude.
2. Keep lines of communication open with the patient. Have a customer satisfaction box available for comments. Remember! It is better that you hear from your disgruntled patient before someone else does.
3. Get to the source of the problem. Why are they behaving this way? Is there something I can do to fix the problem? If I can't, who can?
4. Educate your patients before problems arise. Let them know what your policies are, and don't make promises that you can't keep.
5. Let them know that they are not a burden to you by smiling and thanking them for coming.
6. Remember that we are all traveling down the same road. Treat how you want to be treated, serve how you want to be served.
7. Treat your customers with "ECG": Empathy - Caring - Gratitude