A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Anybody handle phones in a doctor's office? - inu

Posted: Jul 29, 2012

So I just got a temp job in a fancy upscale surgical hospital. First in-house job in 8 years, and I really need to convert this job into a permanent deal, but my first attempts on the phone last week I sort of bombed. Is anybody able to offer some pointers on phone tact? I know I will make mistakes, it would be great if I could recover from them gracefully. >_<*

If someone was willing to mentor me and get me through this next week I would send you a box of cookies or brownies or whatever you want! In other words, I would be eternal grateful.

I know this feels like a weird request. If you're willing to chat, e-mail me please!

Here's what I would do - if I were in your place

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't think it's a weird request at all.

If I were in your place, I would call Linda Andrews of Andrews School. She was a medical office/business manager for years. She has always been open to helping people even if they aren't her students. She may or may not be able to help, but it won't hurt to ask. She might have some hints for you.

Good suggestion, but you might e-mail her today in case she checks her mail on weekends - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Since you probably can't call her tomorrow because you'll be working, see if you can get in touch with her today. I know she'll help if she can.

Thank you! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
I will definitely try to contact her. I bet she's extraordinarily busy, but any small hint she could offer would be a blessing.

Makes no difference if she is busy or not - Pay attention to how she sounds

[ In Reply To ..]
She will make time for you and sound just as though you were the only person on earth who matters. Pay close attention to that because it is the key to providing exceptional customer service.

That is what YOU need to sound like . . . nobody is more important than your customers.

Fortunately, nearly everything you need to say can be scripted out. All you need to do is follow the script. You should have no trouble with WHAT to say. Just say it in a pleasant and professional tone.

Customer service is never easy. People can be horrible. You have to recognize that and not be affected by it.

Focus intently on each caller. They are the only person on earth at that moment.

Smile when you speak, whether you feel like it or not. It changes the tone of your voice. You need to have that tone in your voice. It also makes it more difficult to say anything rude or snarky, or to say anything with a sarcastic tone.

Yes! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes! This is exactly the way I want to sound and treat every caller. I think I lose it a bit when I get flustered and start to stumble and mumble, and I hate that!

I will make it a mental goal on Monday to ensure the caller is the sole center of my attention on every call, and see if it helps me remain calmer and more professional in the face of confusion!

Good for you, Inu. Wish you replaced the person I deal with. - BTW, lovely tribute to Linda A, guys. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

best advice I can give you... - sm

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1) If you are unsure of what someone has said, don't ask them to repeat it - ask them to spell it. Particularly with patient names.

2) Always record the time and date of a message.

Can you elaborate as to how you bombed?

Thank you! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
The spelling trick is a great idea, I will remember it, thank you!

One of the calls I bombed last week was a patient's daughter calling for an update on the px. What my trainer told me was that we can only give that information out to family. What my trainer really meant, was that we can only give that information to people on the "authorized list", which it turned out the px's daughter was not!

So I had the caller on the line, following a bunch of confusion as to whether she was authorized or not, and my trainer behind me frowning at me saying "we can't do that" and me thinking... I really don't want to just bluntly (rudely) tell her "We can't do that."

So the caller ended up offended on two fronts, one - because my own confusion on the issue made the facility look unprofessional. And two - because she's the px's daughter, understandably worried, and why are we hiding information?

The second issue I know I'm going to encounter a lot, and I've thought about it thoroughly since and settled on saying things like "I know it's frustrating but it's a patient privacy issue we simply cannot budge on" or "I'm sorry, but it's a federal privacy law we are required to uphold"

btw, if those answers sound horrible, please let me know!

Still, usually when it's impossible to satisfy a client's wishes, I still want to offer an alternative that would make them happy, but in this instance I can't think of any.

As for the first issue, I know I'm going to make mistakes like that in the first few days, not knowing the answers to questions, not directing them to the right department maybe, not handling things as quickly as I wish I could...and in those circumstances, I just wish I could recover more gracefully from them! So any advice on that front would be a lifesaver.

Geeze, I am really sorry for that wall of text above!

I swear I suffer from a type of PTSD because of my medical secretary days :-D - Hayseed

[ In Reply To ..]
Man, does your post bring it all whooshing back. I was trained by baptism by fire, so it's kind of nice that someone is mentoring you.

I don't know if your office has a "phone protocol" as to how you are to answer the phone, but I always answered with the name of the practice and "This is Hayseed speaking, how can I help you?" If it was wicked busy and there were 3+ calls coming in at the same time, I would ask each and every one if they were able to hold, AND WAIT to see if they were indeed able to hold and say "thank you" before putting them on hold. Not sounding as rushed as you may be goes a long way as far as not antagonizing what may be an already irked patient/caller.

As far as asking for a patient update, I would think you would "turf" that off to someone qualified to do so in an office setting, either directly to the physician or maybe to a medical assistant. As a secretary, I never did that. I simply took messages for staff to call patients back, scheduled appointments, or routed live calls to the appropriate person. Even as something as reporting a seemingly benign test result was handed off to someone with fancy initials after their name for legal reasons.

When in doubt, if you can, tell them to bear with you as you are in training and you will get the answer for them but could they please hold for just a moment. Then breathe and find out the answer. If they give you any guff, tell them you will get the office manager for them. That's what they get paid the big bucks to deal with. Always be sickly sweet and sound like a granny with a lot of "oh dear" if you goof up. Sounds lame but darn it all if it doesn't work.
:D

Baptism by fire - that is indeed how it feels! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
I know there can be worse training situations out there. I, at least, am lucky to have a trainer standing beside me and a group of experienced ladies around me willing to help. Yet, it still feels this way, like a trial by fire. I guess I don't like jumping blind into dark waters, and not knowing what will be waiting for me on the other end of the line is very daunting, so here I find myself on the weekend overflowing a bit with the nervous energy.

Although a great deal of the issues do seem to be routed to other departments, this particular one, it seems, they do wanted handled by the front lines.

Thank you for your suggestions. I will immediately put the "hold" suggestions into practice.

And I think before now, I was just too embarrassed to say "bear with me, I'm in training" but I think it will go a long way should I happen to revert back to that mumbling stage I unfortunately fall into when I get flustered. (Next step, of course, would be curing that mumbling habit for good).

Absolutely use "I'm in training" without embarrassment. - Former front office empl.

[ In Reply To ..]
No shame in telling this truth. It lets the client know why you are confused and/or hesitating and most will be understanding. BTW, congrats on getting a job outside of MT.

Hayseed, do you remember being so busy answering phones that you answered your home phone with "This is Hayseed, how may I help you?" I know I confused family and friends with "This is Dr. ***'s office, *** speaking." Ha!

Nearly 15 years later and I STILL answer my personal phone like that actually! - Hayseed

[ In Reply To ..]
That way, there's no confusin' who the caller was looking for. I do answer my phone like this, "Hello, this is Hayseed..." and then I wait for a response from the other end. Nearly always throws 'em.

Well, I don't use my MTStars moniker, and I don't ask them how I may help them though...because that would be plain neurotic. I like it!
:-D

PS--I swear, because of those nonstop uber busy phones (oh how I loved turning the phones over to the answering service at 5:00!), I am now terrified of my personal phone and hardly ever answer it. I usually curl into the fetal position and just wait for it to explode or something...and then I cautiously check voice mail. I should really seek therapy.

Me too - phonephobia - OZMT

[ In Reply To ..]
I worked on phones for years: hotel reception desks and switchboard, a newspaper's classified ad call centre, insurance sales and service and then insurance claims.

I rarely answer the phone when it rings but let voicemail pick it up. If I need to call someone I stress about it for days, rehearsing what I'll say and what they might say back. But I think even 6 years since I stopped my insurance claims job, I could still put on a headset and have a fluent and erudite war of words with someone who tried to tell me the other car at fault... Even though it was parked.

Scripts are worth their weight in gold - you can rattle them off while you focus on taking notes of what is being discussed, for example.

my own funny experience - OHMT

[ In Reply To ..]
Back when I was just out of high school, I had two part time jobs on alternating days of the week. One was in a mental health office, one in a beauty salon. Both were front desk phone/receptionist jobs. Sometimes I would have to stop and think for a moment where I was working when I answered the phone.

One evening while working at the mental health center, I answered the phone and said "Miss Kitty's Hair Salon!" The person on the other end mumbled that they had the wrong number and hung up. Of course, I realized my mistake but it was too late. The phone immediately rang again, and I answered it correctly this time. It was the same caller. I wonder if the person on the other end recognized my voice!

about patient status updates...important... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
This is really important: As nonclinical, front-office staff, YOU are not authorized to give clinical updates of any kind for any reason - whether the person on the phone is "on the list" or not. You are not authorized to give results or status reports of any kind.

The best thing to do is to kindly explain: "I'm sorry, I can't answer that for you, but I would be happy to take your number so that one of the nurses or a doctor can call you back and we can get your questions answered."

Yes it IS HIPAA...it is a hospital directory issue - Not a doctors office

[ In Reply To ..]
The OP works in a hospital, not a doctor's office. Callers are asking for information in the patient directory.

OP here - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
Right, I'm at the switchboard here, and I'm basically screening calls. If the guest is on the list I can route them to the appropriate place for more information, but if they aren't on the list I have to more or less turn them away right at the switchboard, if that makes sense.

Incorrect (!) - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The only people authorized to give patient status reports is clinical staff - NOT front office staff. HIPAA or not, hospital or doctor's office, it doesn't matter.

I don't know what you mean about a "hospital directory issue" - I read nothing of the kind in the OP.

why would someone click "dislike" - ?

[ In Reply To ..]
This is correct: The only people authorized to give patient status reports is clinical staff - NOT front office staff.

Ah ha! This is not your fault. - Suggetion

[ In Reply To ..]
You were not provided with adequate HiPAA training. Your trainer gave you conflicting information and you are still trying to reconcile your own beliefs about what information hospitals disclose with a law you do not understand.

Google summary of HIPAA privacy law. There is an explanation of it on the www.hhs.gov website. It specifically describes hospital directories.

When you grew up, hospitals gave that info to anyone who called. No more. No more carte blanche for family, either. If mama does not want the stalker daughter, the unbalanced daughter, or the manipulative daughter to know she is in the hospital . . . that is her right and we uphold it.

Force your trainer to provide scripted responses for you to follow. You can be held liable for any breach, so take this seriously.

Thank you for the link! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
Although I did get to watch a nice HIPAA video to review on the first day, to be honest it was a lot to digest all at once.

Although, that's not really an excuse. I should have taken it upon myself to learn more about it.

Part of my mortification with this call was knowing the absolute seriousness of the issue at hand if handled completely improperly, so I intend to take it very seriously from this point on.

not about hipaa...(!) - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
please see my post above (about patient status updates...important).

HIPAA or not, nonclinical front-office staff is NOT allowed to discuss results, patient status, or to provide patient updates.

Just like the echo tech cannot tell the patient their echo results, just like the nuclear tech cannot share results of your x-ray, CT, MRI, etc.

Yes it is about HIPAA. - See my post above

[ In Reply To ..]
See her post above . . . she does not work in a doctor's office, but in a hospital answerin calls about the patient directory. HIPAA does apply.

I'm not saying hippa doesn't apply... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I am simply saying that even when someone is on the disclosure list, nonclinical staff is not authorized to provide patient status updates.

If the poster is fielding calls about the pt directory that she is not authorized to answer, the best response is: "I am sorry, I don't have the authority to answer that question. May I take your number?"

Before going on & on about HIPAA - sm

[ In Reply To ..]

Maybe you should read the OP's post about what she does...She IS NOT giving clinical information. She is determining whether she can pass the caller on to the department to GET clinical information.

"Right, I'm at the switchboard here, and I'm basically screening calls. If the guest is on the list I can route them to the appropriate place for more information, but if they aren't on the list I have to more or less turn them away right at the switchboard, if that makes sense."

Maybe you should read the OP's post about what she does...She IS NOT giving clinical information. She is determining whether she can pass the caller on to the department to GET clinical information. Your point, while correct, is moot in this case.

"Right, I'm at the switchboard here, and I'm basically screening calls. If the guest is on the list I can route them to the appropriate place for more information, but if they aren't on the list I have to more or less turn them away right at the switchboard, if that makes sense."

I understand. Thanks - nm

[ In Reply To ..]

Everybody, thank you! - inu

[ In Reply To ..]
You guys are wonderful! I was able to talk to Linda Andrews on the phone. She is fantastic.

Another experienced person kindly e-mailed me as well, and all of your insight and advice offered here I intend to put fully to use in the upcoming weeks.

MTStars, you guys are phenomenal! Thank you guys so much!

I don't even know the mechanics of HOW to answer - feel bad

[ In Reply To ..]
the phones. I took a job in a clinic and sometimes I am caught up on transcription and the phones are ringing off the hooks, but nobody told me to answer them and it has been so long since I have that I literally don't know how to answer a line (except mine, which is not the one ringing!), transfer, etc.

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