'Wow' patients with unforgettable service
Consider patient's point of view
Before a patient even approaches your registration area, he or she might "expect the worst," according to Keith Weatherman, CAM, MHA, associate director of service excellence for the corporate revenue cycle at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, NC.
"They may feel scared, not just of what is happening to them medically, but also the enormity of the facility even the parking deck," Weatherman says.
If members of the patient access staff are doing their jobs correctly, they'll make patients feel more at ease, he adds. "I truly believe that we can change their perception of coming to a big, scary hospital," says Weatherman. "We quickly make them feel that things are going to be good for them."
Here are some ways to give patients excellent service:
Instruct your staff to make eye contact.
This step is the "simplest and least expensive thing" that patient access staff can do to improve patient satisfaction, says Weatherman.
"It is easy to want to stare into the computer while keying in data. But as questions are asked by the staff, they should use eye contact," he says. "We constantly remind our registrars about this."
If you notice an employee giving good service, or are told they are providing this level of service by another access employee, send a handwritten thank-you note.
If Weatherman hears several compliments about a certain employee, he gives that individual movie tickets or a $10 gift card for a restaurant.
"We get a lot of mileage out of that," he says. "When we see something good happening, we say, 'Thank you for the way you handled that particular situation with a patient.'"
Encourage staff to show genuine friendliness.
Recently, a registrar at Skaggs Regional Medical Center in Branson, MO, gave a meal voucher to a woman who was waiting a long time for a test at an outpatient clinic.
"This type of effort costs little or nothing, but that patient will never forget our clinic," says Janet Deckard, inpatient financial counselor. "She most likely will recommend us to her friends."
Although the registrar can't give any clinical care to the patient, he or she can certainly provide emotional support, says Weatherman. "Smile when appropriate, and use common courtesy," he says. "Brief and appropriate small talk can definitely send a message to certain patients that they are not being herded through the process."
Provide scripting for everyday situations.
Nicole Marsoobian, supervisor of preregistration at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, says, "Over the last year, our ambulatory access trainer has done a great job at creating scripting and training material for the patient access team."
The scripting covers answering the phone, handling difficult callers, sounding more professional, and using a better tone of voice. "I tell registrars to wait before speaking, avoid reacting to emotional customers, never interrupt, ask open-ended questions, and never reply with 'yes' or 'no,'" says Marsoobian.
Before a patient even approaches your registration area, he or she might "expect the worst," according to Keith Weatherman, CAM, MHA, associate director of service excellence for the corporate revenue cycle at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, NC.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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