Physicians Practice - March 2008 - (Page 34)

PATIENT RELATIONS 4. Patient check-out procedures. McAllister’s “one-stop-shopping” model also includes check-out procedures that are performed in the exam room. If any prescriptions are warranted, he sends them electronically to the local pharmacy. He schedules any follow-up appointments, and his EMR reminds him if the child is due in the near future for vaccinations or well-baby visits that he also check-out. The group stocks a small formulary of acute episodic drugs. Patients really appreciate the convenience of not having to go to a pharmacy after their visit. And so does the staff. “It’s not something that involves scheduling or coordinating appointments or collecting money,” explains Miller. “They kind of get involved in the patients’ care.” Keep in mind that the person who checks out your patients is the do,” says Miller. Her group is in the process of transitioning from a document management system to an EMR, and Miller hopes that will ease their follow-up procedures. Her ofﬁce currently tracks all referrals by recording the date and time a patient is scheduled to see a specialist and then follows up to ensure the appointment was kept. If not, her staff contacts the patient to determine why not, and does its best to “close the circle of service” by ensuring the patient receives referred care. I CAN’T GET NO … SURVEY SAYS … “Monitoring how patients feel about your services and knowing whether or not they are satisfied with them is just a part of doing business.” Julie Sanderson-Austin, American Medical Group Association Patient satisfaction is easy to take for granted. But you don’t want to wait until your phone stops ringing before you think about patient attraction and retention. “Physicians really need to look at how patients want to be treated in the nonclinical part of their experience in a medical practice,” says Bradford. “They’ve got to understand the uniqueness of their customer population and their setting. So details are key.” Amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday practice, it may be easy for you to miss a ﬂoating dead ﬁsh in the tank in your reception area. But your patients won’t. • schedules on the spot. Finally, for baby visits, McAllister prints out a growth chart for the parent. To ease check-out procedures at her large practice, Miller says that her check-in and check-out staff are part of, and report to, the billing team. “Once or twice a year we do a major billing and access team meeting in which we talk about all billing aspects because it’s all tied together,” she explains. Having this know-how allows front-desk staff to knowledgeably explain charges to patients who come to them with questions. Another convenience Family Practice Associates of Lexington offers its patients is the opportunity to ﬁll some of their prescriptions at 34 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | MARCH 2008 last face they will see before leaving the ofﬁce. “If they are treated well, they’ll feel like they are leaving a group of friends, people who will welcome them when they return,” says Bradford. But she also cautions managers to tell their check-out staff to choose their words wisely when talking to departing patients. “Be careful when asking questions like, ‘Did everything go all right today?’” she says. “For some patients, it may not have.” 5. Follow-up. For most patients, their care continues long after their appointment with you. They need prescriptions, lab work, X-rays, scans, tests, and referrals. Keeping track of patients once they leave the ofﬁce is “probably the hardest thing we Barbara A. Gabriel, MA, is the associate editor of Physicians Practice. She has served as editor and writer for numerous healthcare publications during the past 10 years. Barbara can be reached at bgabriel@physicianspractice.com. WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

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Physicians Practice - March 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Try a Little Tenderness Second Opinion Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: The Value of First Impressions Noteworthy Cover Story: Your Complete Guide to Patient Service Billings & Collections: Rules to Code By The Administrators Desk: Selecting an EMR Technology: Learn to Love Your Nerd Ask The Experts Coding The Guide The Tech Doctor: All About Blogs The Great Practice Makeover: When Bad Things Happen to Good Practices Start It Up - NEW! The Law: Audits 101 In Practice: Do As I Say... Pretty Please? Healthonomics: Handling the Changes Wrought by Medicare D Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - March 2008

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