Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 5 Administrative Use of the Electronic Health Record

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Administrative Use of the Electronic Health Record 1. Explain the importance and typical duties of the front office assistant. 2. Discuss the necessity of respectful communication among providers, staff, and patients when answering the telephone, sending , messaging, faxing, and scheduling appointments. 3. Create a telephone message in the SimChart for the Medical Office (SCMO). 4. Explain why a provider might send a letter to a healthcare provider or patient, and learn how to create one in an EHR. 2 Lesson 5.1

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Administrative Use of the Electronic Health Record 5. Generate patient correspondence in SCMO. 6. Outline the procedure for the management of EHRs, including eliminating duplicate charts, the proper way of purging closed patient records, and the importance of backing up the EHR. 7. Create and manage patient appointments in the calendar. 8. Discuss the role of the front office in maintaining the waiting room. 3 Lesson 5.1

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Role of the Front Office Assistant  Positive attitude  Greeting patients on the phone and in person  Creating and managing an EHR for each patient  Generating patient letters and other correspondence  Providing patient education material 4

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Communication in the Medical Office  Good communication improves patients’ confidence in their care  Increases satisfaction among patients  Safeguards confidentiality 5

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Generating Correspondence in SCMO  Access from any module  Click the Correspondence link  Select the Type of Correspondence from the left info panel  Perform Patient Search to link to the patient record 6

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Patient Correspondence  Referral letters  Patient letter  s  Phone messages  Increases satisfaction and understanding among patients  Safeguard confidentiality 7

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Telephone Etiquette  Telephone is usually the first communication between staff and patient  First impression of office  Professional, positive, pleasant tone when answering 8

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Common Types of Phone Calls in the Medical Office  Appointment requests  Inquiries from prospective patients about the practice  Requests for medical advice from a physician or nurse  Prescription refill requests  Insurance and billing questions from patients  Information requests from insurance companies 9

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Proper Telephone Etiquette  Do not use office telephone lines for personal conversations. Keep your cell phone conversations short and private, and take such calls only while on break.  Do not wear a Bluetooth or other cell phone earpiece during working hours.  Greet the caller by the second ring, if possible.  Answer the call with a professional, pleasant greeting, such as, “Good morning, Dr. Mason’s office, this is Amber. How can I help you today?”  Speak slowly and clearly, adjusting your volume if you know or suspect the caller has a hearing deficit. 10

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Proper Telephone Etiquette (Cont.)  Obtain the caller’s full name, a return phone number, and the reason for the call  Verify any spelling and contact numbers for accuracy, and summarize the reason briefly and precisely  If it’s necessary to place the caller on hold during the call, do so only after asking the patient’s permission and awaiting a response  Limit the hold time to less than a minute, if possible  Document your conversation with the caller, along with the time and date and your initials 11

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Appointment Confirmation  A reminder that the doctor has reserved this time  A request to return the call to confirm the appointment  A request to bring to the appointment a list of current medications  A reminder for the patient to check on his or her referral status if the patient’s insurance company requires a referral 12

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Secure  Inexpensive  Quicker than “snail mail”  Encryption technology  Security  HIPAA disclosure statement  EHR messaging  Interoffice only  Patient access 13

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Sending Professional 14

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Messaging in SCMO  Allowing users to send and receive messages with other staff members and patients  Found under the Correspondence link  Left side Info Panel 15

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Faxing  Faxes can be misdirected because of human error or technical glitches  The recipient of a fax cannot be verified because anyone can pick up the printed document if the machine is placed in an unsecure location  It is difficult to verify that all pages were received 16

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Fax  Inform the recipient before sending any confidential patient information so that it can be retrieved immediately  Use a cover sheet when sending a fax  The cover sheet should include the sender’s contact information, a confidentiality disclaimer, and recipient information  Follow up with the intended recipient to ensure that the message was received 17

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Managing of Electronic Records  EHR is monitored daily  Ensuring proper software updates  Continued training efforts  Responsibility of entire office 18

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Eliminating Duplicate Charts  Ask whether the patient has ever been seen by the practice before  If so, use the already established patient EHR  Ask established patients if they have had a name change  Always set up the patient EHR account using the name listed on the insurance card 19

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Patient Records  Patient health records are classified into three groups:  Active  Inactive  Closed  Retention period  Purging  Process of removing inactive and closed patient health records from those that are active 20

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Backing Up the Electronic Health Record  Secondary offsite location  Charged portable laptop  Purchased through a vendor  Offices must have a written backup and recovery plan in place 21

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Calendar  Electronic appointment book is the key to efficient time management  Several users can access the electronic appointment book at once  Can be printed out daily so that the doctors, medical assistants, nurses, and receptionists are all aware of the patient load for the day  Patients can be easily rescheduled, and appointment availability can be searched based on patient preferences 22

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Calendar Views  The SCMO scheduling system offers many different views, accessible from the blue tabs on the left side of the screen:  Daily  Weekly  Monthly  Exam  Provider 23

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Three Types of Appointments  Patient  Block (holiday, lunch hour, travel)  Other (staff meeting, vendor meetings) 24

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Block an Appointment Time  Done to:  Account for routine days off (holidays)  Schedule provider vacations, business travel, and personal time off  Block time before and after lunch  Accommodate urgent care  Reserve doctor-only booking slots 25

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Double-Booking  Assigning more than one patient to the same appointment slot  Performed when:  Practice expects a no-show  Expects patients to arrive early or late  Expected to be brief  Appointment requires different rooms and resources  Urgent medical problem 26

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Patient Flow  Waiting room  Ensure that the waiting room is well lit, clean, and safe  Reading material in the medical office should not include potentially offensive topics  Use the waiting room as an opportunity to promote healthy lifestyles 27

Copyright © 2015 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Questions? 28