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Front Desk

Front Desk

Angry patients

Help Your Front Desk Get Control of Patients that Use Profanity

When patients use profanity with your staff, whether on the phone or in person, it not only makes for a negative workplace, but it can also have dire consequences for your overall practice. These situations can lead to high staff turnover, a reduction in patient retention, and a loss of reimbursement. Angry patients. Unfortunately, you […]
Published Date: December 2, 2021
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notice of privacy practices

Avoid Notice of Privacy Practices HIPAA Danger Zones

HIPAA guarantees a variety of patient rights — one of these includes a patient’s right to know how you’re going to use their PHI (Protected Health Information). In addition, HIPAA requires you to describe your office’s privacy practices in writing in an easy-to-read format, called a Notice of Privacy Practices. Don’t take this HIPAA notification lightly. This is […]
Published Date: September 22, 2021
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common HIPAA violations

Use Role Playing to Avoid Costly Front Desk HIPAA Errors

Each time one of your patients checks in, his or her personal information has an increased potential of being seen or overheard by someone else in your reception area. However, being aware of this increased risk and setting up preventive actions means you can head off common HIPAA violations at check-in before they occur. common […]
Published Date: September 10, 2021
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HIPAA violation

HIPAA Violations: Protect Patient Information at Your Front Desk

Your front desk team receives a call from a patient and instinctively jots down the caller’s information on a piece of paper. But wait – do they realize this could lead to serious penalties for HIPAA violation? Your front desk could unwittingly be the source of a data breach. A patient or visitor gaining access […]
Published Date: July 14, 2021
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Angry Patient Communication

Front Desk Communication Strategies to Calm the Angriest Patient

Defusing angry or hostile patients is a critical skill for everyone on your front desk team to have. How your staff handles these situations can have a positive or negative ripple effect for everyone in your office. Angry Patient Communication. In many instances, clear communication is the solution. When done correctly this can de-escalate most […]
Published Date: April 23, 2021
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patient privacy law original

Front Desk Training: Curtail Privacy Law Violation at Your Practice

QUESTION: Patients at our practice check in and sign out at an open station that overlooks the waiting room. Recently, a patient expressed concern that other people in the area might hear her information. How can we reduce the risk of violating patient privacy law when patients are registering for and scheduling appointments? Question from […]
Published Date: July 14, 2020
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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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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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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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Front desk phone etiquette

Reduce Patient Loss by Boosting Phone Etiquette

Update Notice:  This blog post was reviewed for accuracy on May 26th, 2021, by a Healthcare Training Leader expert, and determined to be up-to-date, accurate and complete. Front desk phone etiquette. QUESTION: We recently discovered that we lost several patients due to the poor customer service they received over the phone. How can I help our […]
Published Date: January 30, 2020
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