Physicians Practice - April 2008 - (Page 64)

ADMINISTRATOR’S DESK who spoke Spanish,” she says. “The patients walked in, and when they found out there was someone there they could communicate with they were delighted. It was a huge asset to our ofﬁce.” Though it may be tempting to ﬁll vacant positions as quickly as possible, Tucker adds that it’s important to wait for an applicant who embodies the characteristics you seek. After all, employees who rub patients the wrong way will most likely cause internal problems as well. “If you hire a bad apple, it impacts everyone’s day,” says Tucker. “If you have a clerk who is unhelpful to a nurse, that nurse gets upset, and it may affect their care of the next patient. It’s a domino effect.” LOOK IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD Hiring for improved patient satisfaction is only half the battle, says Cullen. “If you have a really negative culture already, with high turnover, bringing in even the most positive person is not going to work,” she says. “You need to ﬁrst take a look at your own culture as a group. Try to involve the physicians, and assess where you are in terms of ofﬁce culture and patient satisfaction.” Practices that are experiencing increased patient complaints and a high rate of patient turnover can try surveying existing and former patients to pinpoint where their problems lie. Some trade groups offer patient satisfaction surveys to help practices identify their strengths and areas for improvement. Once physicians and administrators commit to looking in their own backyards to identify and target their operational weaknesses, it’s time to make good hires. Leadership must agree on the characteristics they are seeking in new recruits before they conduct interviews. That may include a strong customer-service orientation, ﬂexibility, a good attitude, and the ability to handle the inevitable conﬂict that occurs in any ofﬁce. • Shelly K. Schwartz, a freelance writer in Maplewood, N.J., has covered personal ﬁnance, technology, and healthcare for 12 years. Her work has appeared on CNNMoney.com, Bankrate.com, and Healthy Family magazine. She can be reached via editor@physicianspractice.com. 64 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | APRIL 2008 WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://patientimpact.com http://patientimpact.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - April 2008

Physicians Practice - April 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Medicare Decision Time Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Outsource Your Pain Noteworthy Cover Story: Trial Lawyers Tell All Management: When It’s Time to Change Ask the Experts Technology: Do You Know Where Your Data Is? The Tech Doctor: Are Your Discarded PCs Really Clean? Billing & Collections: Playing Hardball The Administrator's Desk: Recruiting for Patient Satisfaction Start It Up: Finance - Mastering the Numbers Game Coding The Great Practice Makeover: Taking Care of Business Associates Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - April 2008

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