Pinpoint exactly where service problems lie
You need buy-in of all employees
A patient associate at Glendale (CA) Adventist Medical Center was typically extraordinarily polite when dealing with patients, but at times became uncharacteristically impatient with particular callers.
“We listened in on the calls where we had heard a little more impatience in responses and found out the caller was over 70,” says Cynthia Norman-Bey, the hospitals’ director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center.
When Norman-Bey met with the employee to discuss this, he first denied that his tone changed with elderly callers, but then listened to the calls himself. “He admitted that it was difficult for him to interact with elderly callers because they asked a lot of questions,” she says. Norman-Bey asked the employee to imagine himself, his mother, father, or grandmother as an elderly patient trying to navigate a big hospital campus.
“He seemed to have a better understanding of what was needed to overcome his challenge with elderly callers,” she says. “His performance improved quickly. He has maintained high performer status within our department.”
Set expectations
Although some patient access staff struggle with providing excellent service to particular types of patients, others give subpar service during peak volumes, says Pam Kohl, a patient access manager at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, WI.
“When there are many patients waiting to be registered, it can be stressful. Just getting the job done is the priority,” she says.
To address this, Kohl asks employees to openly discuss the challenges of high patient volumes at department meetings and during employee rounding. “They can learn from each other on how ‘patients first’ always happens,” she says. “When it becomes a natural part of the employee’s practice, it will occur every time.”
Kohl sets clear expectations for employees to put “patients first” in every interaction, but she says this approach works only if all employees buy in to this approach. “One employee who does not follow the ‘patients first’ value can sabotage the organization’s goals. Patients will be affected negatively,” she says. “Those employees who fall short and cannot be coached must be moved out of the organization.”
When Kohl discovers a customer service issue with an employee by direct observation, results on patient satisfaction surveys, or patient rounding after discharge, coaching is immediately provided. Patient access management, the Employee Assistance Program, human resources, or the hospital’s education department can provide the coaching, says Kohl.
“Clear expectations need to be established,” she advises. “Identify the expectation that is not being met, and coach to that end.” (See related story, above right, on improving service in patient access areas.)
Sources
For more information on assessing customer service in patient access areas, contact:
• Jamie Kennedy, Supervisor, Patient Access, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus. Phone: (614) 688-6316. E-mail: [email protected].
• Pam Kohl, Manager, Patient Access, Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield, WI. Phone: (715) 387-7659. Fax: (715) 387-7445. Email: [email protected].
• Cynthia Norman-Bey, Director of Patient Access Services/PBX Call Center, Glendale (CA) Adventist Medical Center. Phone: (818) 409-6686. Fax: (818) 545-3460. Email: [email protected].
We listened in on the calls where we had heard a little more impatience in responses and found out the caller was over 70,” says Cynthia Norman-Bey, the hospitals’ director of patient access services and the PBX (private branch exchange) Call Center.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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