You cannot score a touchdown if you do not know where the goal lines are. Having clear, well-documented office policies and procedures is essential to running a successful practice. Roentgenography record forms If yours arent sufficient, neither is your compliance program. Incoming and outgoing correspondence procedures coverage w/verification of preauthorization The type of appointment cards typically used is a printed card with areas to indicate the patient's name and the date and time reserved (Fig. District Chiropractic Association The "I Care" message must be conveyed. A routing slip enables each staff member to initial each service conducted as it is completed. When a check is properly made out, the proper data should be entered within the daily record and patient's ledger. Record processing and maintenance It describes how particular activities are to be conducted. Your assistant, however, should always let the patient calling know that you are available and will see him or her as soon as possible. The majority of practitioners feel that legitimate progress reports and inquiries should be encouraged. 3.12) from the patient and total the charges for the services and supplies received. The above routine offers a general system that must be amended to meet individual needs of a specific practice. First, it should be remembered that a health practice is a service operation. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES (3) those that require an assistant's attention. It is more appropriate for businesses that have thousands of active accounts. A choice of two appointments should be offered so that thought will be directed to when rather than if an appointment will be made. If the subject is more important than the writer, the information is better filed by subject in an alphabetically indexed file. PROFIT MARGIN This form usually concludes with a printed statement of standard office policy concerning payment for services rendered such as "Payment is expected at the time of the visit unless other arrangements have been made in advance." Before accepting a patient under these conditions, you should educate the patient on the importance of following the case plan. However, appointments given to patients at the office are more apt to be forgotten, especially when the patient's symptoms begin to improve and distress is not a constant reminder. Letters With an Assistant's Signature. Questionnaires. When patient volume decreases, operating expenses do not decrease proportionately. Abruptness should be avoided such as, "Mr. Brown, this is Dr. Carey's office. If time allows, another patient who earlier desired an appointment but was unable to receive one can be notified of the opening. Some doctors prefer to sign all letters. The specific days given in this example are not as important as grasping the logic of the procedure involved. Waiting a long time can also cause undue fear and anxiety. Patient safety. NECESSARY CHANGES Accounts receivable procedures It is also the assistant's responsibility to write clearly and accurately so that others can readily read her entries and notations. The accounting system must be prepared for the day. Tabs of different colors can be used to distinguish delinquent account cards, with different colors identifying the stage of delinquency. INSURANCE Referral Calls Assistants are usually delegated the responsibility of administering purchase controls, conducting inventory counts, and preparing necessary requisitions and purchase orders. It is often best that your assistant presort all charts to be filed before they are actually inserted into the filing cabinet. When letters are given to you for your signature, your assistant should have separated those that you have dictated from those that an assistant or someone else prepared for your signature. * Transferring calls: give reason for call Some patients have definite preferences, while others have none. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS While the case history indicates the patient's health status at the time of the initial visit, progress records indicate the patient's state of health at subsequent points in time. I'll let you know when I can make another appointment." A major function of planning is to be able to visualize what your practice is at one stage and what it can be at another. CALLS YOUR ASSISTANT CAN RESOLVE Integrating third-party data into your third-party risk management (TPRM) program - Integrating with third party systems, What is a Compliance Audit? Assistant: If you wish to make an appointment or reserve time for a consultation, I can help you. The points made within this section will help you train your assistants in professional telephone procedures. Other economical procedures to consider are to use direct dialing whenever possible and avoid person-to-person calls. ), or "I don't know where he is" (Something secret?). you offer her an appointment for later that day, but she insists that it must be now. What is the goal of the 1990 Clean Air Act? Although your assistant should always give the impression that you are always readily available, she should not ask you to take the call immediately unless she feels it is absolutely necessary. 5. It is here that both new patients and visitors receive their first close impression of your values in neatness, cleanliness, taste, and consideration for patient comfort. Waiting complaints, in fact, are heard twice as often as complaints about fees. The number of new patients, the number of broken appointments, the number of x-ray and physical examinations in a given period, and other such accountings, are the only means you have of objectively analyzing and controlling your practice. 7. MIDDAY ROUTINES All equipment should be wiped or dusted, and appropriate instruments should be placed in a sterilizer. Primary physicians frequently refer patients to specialists. Referral procedures Correspondence concerning specific patients and copies of letters and reports relative to cases should be filed within the respective patient's case record folder. When this happens, patients should be notified immediately by telephone or mail, whichever is more appropriate. Habitually tardy patients or "no shows" should be scheduled at the end of morning, afternoon, or evening hours, when they are less likely to cause delays for prompt patients or cause a lull in an otherwise busy schedule. 3.20). Entertainers presenting both matinee and evening performances will also present a scheduling difficulty. Some large offices have a manual for business functions and another for clinical functions, while smaller offices just separate these functions by a divider in one book. Following is a list of typical numbers to include: What controls must be established to assure success? A memorandum should be made immediately of every telephone call that needs your attention, needs a return call, or needs some type of action (Fig. NOTE: The following topics are provided as examples only and neither apply to all practices, nor represent a comprehensive list of all policies that may be beneficial or required. They should never sound sharp or paternal. Sound policies and procedures can relieve you of mundane decision-making chores so that time is available for more pertinent tasks. Disinfectant and sterilization procedures A doctor should never be required to do an unlicensed procedure in the office that an assistant can do as well or better. Such a cold approach would be received by most patients as an indication of little concern for patients' best interests. The patient should be made to realize that only first-aid service has been rendered and a more comprehensive service is available when the patient is ready. Case records are as important to the patient as they are to the practice. It also allows patient differentiation by title (Mr., Dr., Mrs., Miss) and by offering in parentheses the patient's preferred first name. If a salesperson should call at the office without an appointment, the assistant should request a card and the purpose of the visit. roentgenography X Some offices use different files for different categories of patients. Because your assistant has this responsibility, she must have the related authority to control the scheduling in harmony with your established policies. Control. Your assistant should greet the entering patient with a smile and cheerful welcome, as if she were the hostess in her own home, being gracious and pleasant and making the patient feel welcomed and at ease. Schedule a patient procedure by Corporate Relations and Business Strategy Staff. * Speak clearly These notes, along with the patient's clinical chart, should be brought to you immediately. High sense of good conduct and hygiene. Printer inpatient admission: katherine jameson is 45 years old and has a history of endometriosis. She should also have a list of certain callers that you wish to speak to immediately. Your assistant should not feel that her function is to "screen" calls, as such an attitude appears to isolate you from the caller. The daily routines just discussed are a good example of task planning. Business office repair service An "Appointment Control Record" is helpful in analyzing problem areas. From a clinical viewpoint, you will be interested in cancellations and changed appointments as such changes may affect your prognosis. EPO-subscribers must use network providers * Straighten rooms A procedure is an even more specific method or system, limited in scope, by which a policy will be administered. District Chiropractic Association Your practice must have good equipment, supplies, and outside services to run efficiently and profitably. In the "Office Policies and Procedures" section of the patient brochure, explain why the following sections are also important to include. These patients have become discouraged with the superficial first aid treatment received in the past, even if it was all that they would allow. An assistant should immediately place the patient in a private room and discreetly inform you of the situation. As in any human contact, the choice of words, voice tone, gestures, posture, and grooming are important parts of the approach. If the patient reports that he feels worse, is discouraged, and doesn't wish to continue treatment at present, your assistant might comment, "Mr. Smith, it's only human to get discouraged when response is not coming rapidly. If an assistant or associate is new to the office, it differentiates these entries from those of predecessors. Each doctor develops a list of particular specialists to whom he or she refers patients for specialized attention (Fig. As most office staffs function best earlier in the day, patients requiring unusual attention are best scheduled earlier in the day. In policies related to termination of employment, avoid using undefined, catch-all terms such as "just cause" which may open the door for wrongful termination lawsuits. House call slips or notebook INVESTMENTS Follow-up Files Progress records Doctor's fee schedule Clinical equipment and supply firms Regardless of the size of the practice, there is no more certain sign of inefficiency than a hectic office atmosphere. If a mystery caller demands to speak directly with you, your assistant should ask for the caller's name and number so the call may be returned. If so, you will have the opportunity to forward an appropriate sympathy card. Long-distance memos 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." No practice can survive if it depends solely upon referrals from location, the yellow pages, or other influences. Mail Sorting. extremity manipulation E An opportunity should be encouraged for patients to air how they feel and what is happening. In many cases, patients may be putting off medical bills because they have high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). Wilson." 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