Put employees 'on stage,' boost satisfaction scores
Role playing helps staff
After patient access employees at SSM Health Care in St. Louis are given extensive and specialized customer training, they are able to "deal with patients under a variety of circumstances," according to Jayne Wright, patient access director for the organization's North Operating Group.
"Some are angry, in pain, scared, or have other issues. Registration plays an important part in setting the tone for the patient's visit."
During the training, role-playing is done involving asking "patients" for money. Here are two scenarios that are used:
The patient refuses to give the registrar his or her social security number. The registrar states, "It is for your protection, so your medical record is not mixed up with anyone else's. We want to make sure we keep all of our patients safe when they are in our hospital. It is not visible on any paperwork and will not be visible to anyone who should not see it."
When asked for a $100 copay by the registrar, the patient says, "I have never been asked for this before. Why are you asking now?" The registrar says, "We have verified your benefits with your insurance company, and this is what your policy states. Most patients like to take care of this upfront so they don't have to worry about it later. I would be happy to take care of this for you today while you are here."
SSM Health Care's patient access managers use the below checklist of "on stage" work behaviors. For each behavior, managers note whether the employee needs improvement, meets expectations, or exceeds expectations:
eats and/or drinks in designated areas;
avoids personal conversations with coworkers in front of patients;
refrains from yelling in the department;
displays a positive attitude;
allows other staff to answer phones when registering patients;
avoids interrupting other registrars when they are with a patient;
refrains from wearing excessive cologne;
notifies a supervisor during both slow and peak times;
smiles when greeting patients;
uses the patient's last name and title;
keeps family informed during extended waits;
refrains from pointing when giving directions.
"This checklist is one way we observe and coach our employees," says Wright. "We use it when leadership does rounding. We have also given it to secret shoppers to use as a guide. We bring it to staff meetings for reminders, and it is posted on communication boards."
If a patient remains upset despite the best efforts of staff, SSM Healthcare's patient access staff can offer $10 gift certificates. This often is done if patients had a long wait time or were inconvenienced in some way. For example, patients may have arrived only to find out that a scheduled diagnostic test couldn't be done because the order was never received, or the machinery broke and no one contacted the patient. "No manager approval is needed," says Wright. "This is in the hands of staff."
Give specialized training
At Stanford (CA) Hospital & Clinics, a four-hour customer service initiative program was created for all staff and new hires. "This program has been instrumental in improving our department's customer service scores," reports Anna Dapelo-Garcia, director of patient admitting services. "Biweekly meetings continue to be held with a core group, who we call the customer service initiative champions."
At Summa Health System, "we have done a lot of staff education on how we are providing customer service," says Carrie L. Gallo, RN, MBA, the organization's director of patient access. The training covers greeting the customer, how to ask questions, and always closing the encounter by asking, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Staff are expected to offer the customer information or other types of assistance. For example, staff take the time to mention to patients that valet parking is available, so they don't have to worry about finding a parking space the day of their appointment.
A "kudos" certificate is given when a patient access staff member receives a compliment, which is usually posted in his or her cubicle. Each quarter, employees who receive compliments on their performance are given a gold star through the "Employee Star" program.
In addition, patient access staff are required to attend a two-hour session on customer service, provided by the hospital's director of service excellence. "It is very interactive and involves a lot of role playing. It is more of a lab than a class," says Gallo.
[For more information, contact:
- Anna Dapelo-Garcia, Director, Patient Admitting Services, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, 300 Pasteur Drive, Room H1105B, M/C 5224, Stanford, CA 94305. Phone: (650) 723-9292. E-mail: [email protected].]
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