Front Desk

Front Desk

Phone skills physician office original

Expert Tips for Stellar Phone Skills That Retain Patients

Due to social distancing under COVID-19, your staff and patients are communicating via phone now more than ever.  Accordingly, the importance of winning phone skills has skyrocketed. Leaving your front desk phone etiquette skills to chance is a nightmare waiting to happen that can cost your physician practice big time. Losing just 3% of your […]
Published Date: May 29, 2020
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COVID Workplace Violence

4 Steps Prevent a Spike in Post-COVID Workplace Violence

Even before the recent pandemic, healthcare workers were four times more likely to be the victims of workplace violence than any other industry. Then, you add the fear, anger and stress of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, and the potential risk rises even further. Everyone is a little on edge (healthcare workers and patients alike). Being […]
Published Date: May 1, 2020
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HIPAA Violation Front Desk Sign In Sheet

Head Off Sign-In Sheet HIPAA Violation Penalties

QUESTION: Patients at our practice sign-in on a paper sheet at our front desk when they arrive for their appointments. Recently, a patient expressed concern that other people signing in might see her information. How can we reduce the risk of violating patient confidentiality when patients sign in (and the associated HIPAA penalties that could […]
Published Date: March 10, 2020
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Front Desk Collect Outstanding Payments Crop

Collect Outstanding Balance at Your Front Desk Without Waiting Room Outbursts

QUESTION: We collect outstanding balances as patients check in at our front desk – before they see the provider. Generally this goes well, but recently we’ve had several instances of patients getting upset and loud. Not only is this problematic for our front desk staff, it is very uncomfortable for other patients sitting in the […]
Published Date: February 27, 2020
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HIPAA Student Health Record

Restrict HIPAA Student Record Release or Face Violations

You could get hit with fines for violating HIPAA student health records’ rights unless you update your protocols based on new agency directives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) updated HIPAA and privacy act laws on how to maintain students’ health records. Some situations allow […]
Published Date: January 28, 2020
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Front desk HIPAA Fax

Practice QA: Fend Off Costly Front Desk HIPAA Fax Fines with 6 Actions

QUESTION: I’m trying to prevent my front desk from making HIPAA mistakes when we send and receive faxes that contain protected health information (PHI). What should and shouldn’t you send electronically? Do we need any kind of release on file? Rochester, NY ANSWER: The first key in making sure that front desk HIPAA fax activity […]
Published Date: December 12, 2019
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Front Desk Angry Patients

Handle Angry Patients for Front Desk Win-Win

QUESTION: Although most of our patients are friendly, sometimes we have patients who are hard to manage. In a couple of instances, a staff member got upset, the encounter got loud and the physician had to step in. There must be a better way for us to handle these situations. Anonymous, Sacramento, CA ANSWER: You’re right. How […]
Published Date: December 4, 2019
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