Caring Service that Matters Customer Service

Position Service Telephones Face-to-Face Check-In Copay Collection Wait Management Putting it all together Quality Indicators Overview Some sections of this course art taken from Presentation: Front Office Success

Position There are many challenging and important roles in medical clinics today. The one that is most often overlooked and taken for granted is CUSTOMER SERVICE

Position We have to act as directors of many important patient functions Moment of Truth First Impression Wait Management Registration Denial Prevention Copay Collection Telephones

Position Customer Service must be practiced. All the other skills can be taught. Expectations Policies & Procedures Clinic Flow Training Cerner Classes Frontline Classes OPD Classes

Service Moment of Truth Any instance when a customer has an opportunity to make a judgment about the quality of service you provide Phone interaction Grounds Door Signs Reception area Escort from reception into clinic Nurses’ station Wayfinding Check-out Waiting Area

Show respect Make time to de-stress Avoid office politics and gossip Be a team member Communicate Greet patients warmly and sincerely Listen to patients Use names Be prepared to help patients Go the extra mile 10 Commandments of Customer Service

Service What can Disney teach us about Customer Service? Be Ready Be Proactively Friendly Communicate Effectively Keep things “Back Stage” “I'm doing this because I want to do it better.” –Walt Disney

Did you know? One of the biggest points of caller frustration is either sitting on hold in the call queue or when they are listening to the phone ring at an agent’s desk.

ACD Phone Lines ACD stands for Automated Call Distribution Functions To distribute calls equally among agents and allow multiple people to answer calls coming in to the same phone number. The ACD system also allows your manager to track call volume, identify call traffic patterns, and plan staffing levels to meet call demand. Why? More efficient Telephones ACD line strictly incoming calls – Like box – calls drop in box (Queue) as agents log on opens door to allow agent to empty box. PBX line PBX: A separate phone line on your ACD phone. Considered a personal Line – incoming and outgoing calls if direct-dialed to that number.

Do’s And Dont’s when working on the phone Telephones Do Be Professional Identify your name and dept. Listen Ask Permission and WAIT for permission before placing on hold Pay attention to the call waiting light Don’t Place on hold w/o permission Blind transfer Show impatience or be rude Treat the caller as an interruption Assume someone else will take care of it

What does your tone say about you?

Take responsibility Remember: To our patients YOU represent the organization. Regardless of who might be responsible for the work WE are responsible for Patient Engagement and correcting issues.

Focus on convenience “Is there a date or time that works best for you, or would you like our first available appointment?” Gather information adequate to perform insurance verification and complete registration (Minimum Data Set) Repeat provider, date, day of week, time and location Inform patient of any necessary preparation Face-to Face

Check-In Don’t just “arrive” your patients, receive them! Greet Acknowledge Use name (if possible) Face-to Face

Co-Pay Collection “How will you be paying today?” “Ms. Jones Your insurance copayment is $__________. Will you be paying with cash, check, or credit card? [Wait for card Face-to Face “When you bring up money, you don’t care about us...”

Wait Management Call it a “reception area” Open the window Greet patients warmly Keep patients informed Engage patients in their care Face-to Face

Recorded Calls MPE Reports Evaluations Telephone QI Programs Minimum Data Set 60 Day updates Scheduling Guidelines Press Ganey 80% in each measurement Customer Service Surveys Avg Speed to Answer = 30 seconds or less Abandoned rate at or below 5% Call Recovery < 0.7% Team Goals Quality Indicators

Questions