The Basic Receptionist

This post sponsored by
Common Ground Chiropractic Center.
2927 NE Everett Street, Portland, OR 97232.
503-232-4099 commongroundpdx.com

Gary Shannon here.

Receptionist

is the smiling face that greets every patient and doctor and staff. The idea is to:

bring the doctor, the patient and the papers together so that chiropractic care can occur.

This is an entry level position for a cheerful person who can tolerate stress and traffic.

Here is a the job description:

~~~Establishment:
(This is really the boss's job to train you, but you must take this in hand.)

• Locate and create a working space with room for files and tools
• Learn who does what jobs and how best to reach them when alone or with a customer.
• Learn your office preferred greetings, style and tempo. Examples:
1. "Hi, I'm Jill at Best Chiropractic. How can I help you?"
2. "When did you last see the doctor?"
3. "Would a morning or afternoon appointment be better for you?"
4. "I've got your appointment at Monday at 3:00 pm."
5. "Did I make a mistake?"
• 
  

~~~Communication & Arrivals:
(this part of the job is common to receptionists for many professions.)

• greet, answer, screen and route phone calls and visitors
• receive, sort and route mail and deliveries
• take and relay messages, faxes, e-mails and other communications
• provide information to callers and customers
• greet persons entering organization, help them sign-in for their visit.
  
• give and collect necessary paperwork to the customer
• provide a pleasant wait when necessary
  
• send files, notes and charts to the service provider
  
• direct arrivals to the correct destination
• get and send completed service records to be posted.

~~~Scheduling

• Create and maintains scheduling records and backups
  
• keep accurate schedule and status of working staff
• schedule and re-schedule customer appointments
• maintain the schedule book, manually or electronically
• make regular* follow-up with appointments needing to be made
• organize and support meetings, gatherings and events
  
• make and/or confirm new appointments for those leaving the office
• general administrative and clerical support
• prepare letters and documents

~~~Cashier:
(Parts of this job are shared with the Accounts Clerk)

• Collects per visit payments and co-payments
  
• Verify insurance coverage, requirements and permissions
  
• Daily, post all charges and payments and reconcile them
• Prepare and deposit money to the bank
• File payment and treatment records
• Back-up computer records relating to you job and use them as needed

~~~Promotions and Public image
( Even if there is a Office Manager handling "promotions", Reception is key)

• Be and make a good first impression
• Help other staff keep a productive and effective schedule
  
• Tidy and maintain the reception and public areas regularly*
• Encourage clients in their choice of your office
• Assist with word-of-mouth marketing and referral programs
• Encourage relative strangers to visit your facility
• Help other staff maintain a cheerful professional attitude
  

~~~ Backlogs & Special Projects:
(Will vary from office to office and time to time. Examples:)

• Locate patients who dropped off care last year and write a card
• Review appointments and sign-in sheets back 52 weeks and see charges posted
• Make new sign-in sheets with interesting pictures and messages
  

*"REGULARLY"

Your office lead receptionist (or office manager or owners) sets your follow-up schedule. "Regularly" differs from office to office. I use this schedule for "appointment needed" contacts:

• Missing co-worker: 5 minutes
  
• Missing patient: 15 minutes
• Second call to patient: 3 business hours
• Third call to patient: one day
• Fourth call to patient: three days, with written note or letter
  
• Fifth call to patient: one week.
  
• Sixth call to patient: three weeks, with written note or letter
  
• After this, let accounts and news-letters keep in touch
  

If your system allows it, schedule your next missed-appointment and never-made appointment calls on your master schedule. Then initiate them. Out-flowing welcoming communication is the central way the Receptionist helps your practice flourish and your patients improve.

All the best to you and yours.

This post sponsored by
Common Ground Chiropractic Center.
2927 NE Everett Street, Portland, OR 97232.
503-232-4099 commongroundpdx.com

Verifying Insurance - in progress

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Dr. Ed Hacmac D.C. has requested this article. Look for it soon.

Content to include:


Why you do not let patients do this for you.

Publish Post

Workspace and set-up

Private. Phone. Prepare to be on hold. Tues through Thu, 9 am to 3 pm.

Computer access is becoming more and more helpful. although carriers' websites are still not likely to answer the questions you must ask when verifying chiropractic care.

Make a verification form so that every thing you need to know gets verified. You may keep it internal or share it with your patient as you see fit.

The disclaimer.

Identifiers: Yours: Tax ID, NPI, phone number, address, or online log and password
Have these to hand in the work space.

Identifiers: Patients: Name, ID number, claim number, birth date, Group,
copy the insurance card, front and back. Copy photo id with birth date. Driver's license is ideal.

Key questions:

Jane would like to know if your plan covers chiropractic care at our office.

Does Jane need to file any documents to apply for benefits?
Typically, Auto accident victims must provide an application fro PIP benefits, a recorded interview with a claims examiner, or both. Injured workers must file the claim as well, either newly (in a WC 827 form) or as a transfer patient who was seen elsewhere.

Is this plan connected to a preferred provider group?
~~If so, is our doctor in the group?
When in doubt, get both benefits.

Do you require a pre-authorization or referral for benefits?
~~If so, who should I contact to get one?

Is coverage current and available now?
~~if a denied or exhausted injury claim, is there an attorney on record?

Benefits summary

This is the part you CAN find online... and the claims agent is well-trained in answering:
Warning... the answers can be complex and contradictory.

~What are the benefits, co-payments, and deductibles?
~When do benefits exhaust? How much as been used?
~Are there daily or yearly limits to care?
~Are there any exclusions to scope-of-license care,
~~~such as therapy, orthotic equipment or massage?
~To what address should claims be sent? E-billing number?

Ending wrap up.

Is there another insurance that may cover this patient according to your records?

Your name and a reference number for this call?

Sample form:

Basic Collections Job

This post sponsored by
Common Ground Chiropractic Center.
2927 NE Everett Street, Portland, OR 97232.
503-232-4099 commongroundpdx.com

Gary Shannon here.

Collections Clerk, Accounts Clerk, Billing Clerk

are names for an entry level position for someone with a head for details and figures. Their idea is that we know where and when every penny owing to the office will come from. This is the job that makes that possible by taking the time to keep good records and send out good communications about what we need paid.

Here is a the job description:

~~~Establishment:
(This is really the boss's job to train you, but you must take this in hand.)

• Locate and create a working space with room for files and tools
  
• Locate old and current service, price and coding lists.
• Locate all patient and insurance record file caches.
• Locate all computer billing programs and passwords.
  

~~~New Patient Accounts:
(For every new patient customer, make a basic account. )

• Verify insurance coverage, requirements and permissions (shared with others)
• Input patient and insurance information to billing system
• Verify and record patient payment plan
• Input diagnoses and procedure codes to billing system
  
• Tickle accounts for 60 day review

~~~Billing cycle: (shared with others)
(You share some of these duties with the Receptionist, but you see that it's done completely.)

• Daily, post all charges and payments and reconcile them.
• Prepare and deposit money to the bank.
  
• Locate un-posted charges and post them
  
• Produce claim forms and statements regularly* by type
• Produce recieveable lists regularly* and audit them.
• File payment and treatment records.

~~~Accounts Audits:
(This part requires organizational and detail-oriented skill:)

• Create and maintain a tickler/reminder collections system
  
• Query unpaid first visit charges after 60 days
• Query other unpaid insurance charges after 90 days
• Query unpaid patient charges after 30 days.
• Query legal and settlement accounts, provide data.
• Provide what non-payers need to pay the claim., such as notes and bills.
• After queries, make a tickler card for follow-up.

~~~Accounts Repair:
(This part touches on what an Account Manager will handle.)

• Locate faulty charges and claims and repair them
• Locate partially or un-posted payments and repair them
• Locate partially and unpaid insurance claims, and repair billing
• Locate long un-collected charges and repair or write off.
• Back-up computer records relating to you job and use them as needed.
  

~~~ Backlogs & Special Projects:
(Will vary from office to office and time to time. Examples:)

• Locate missing pre-authorization needed claims from last year to present
• Review appointments and sign-in sheets back 52 weeks and see charges posted.
• Shred the 10 year old patient files, but not children's files.
  

*"REGULARLY"

Your office account manager (or office manager or owners) sets your audit and account schedule. "Regularly" differs from office to office and account type to account type. I use this schedule:

• Tickler system: every day
  
• Flagged and Buggy Accounts: every three days
• Personal Accounts: every month.
• Insurance Accounts: every four to six weeks.
• Dual Insurance Accounts: every 10 weeks.
• Attorney Accounts: every three months.
• Barter Accounts: every four months.

All the best to you and yours.

This post sponsored by
Common Ground Chiropractic Center.
2927 NE Everett Street, Portland, OR 97232.
503-232-4099 commongroundpdx.com

Chiropractic Assistant Training

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The Chiropractic Aide

Gary Shannon here.

I've aided chiropractors since 1985 now. I've learned a few things along the way. It's time for me to share them.

Why The Chiropractic Aide?

"Chiropractic" means "using hands" (from Greek). Rarely using drugs or surgery (the two main tools of the American Medical Doctor), Chiropractic Doctors find and fix physical problems related to the body with hands-on methods. Doctors of Chiropractic have been though years of training, similar to Medical Doctors. They generally know exactly what they need to do to help patient achieve better health and better life.

In all that schooling, though, there are a lot of details about running a fun, effective office that chiropractic colleges do not teach. Thus,

DOCTORS ARE NOT TAUGHT HOW TO:

• run all the elements of a efficient practice,
• take on staff legally and efficiently,
• train and teach staff how to do their jobs,
• to help staff to work together (the doctor included),
  
• to work well with other professionals,
• repair administrative and personnel problems when they occur.
  

Doctors are motivated and smart. They generally only need a little training and guidance, then they "get it". These points are not part of the usual doctor curriculum. A lot of doctors do find out this stuff. A lot of it. A lot of them. Not all of them. Not all of it.

The Aide

That's where I come in. I have learned this stuff, through formal training, careful study and decades of experience. Thus I do consulting and contract work here out of Portland, Oregon. Based on my reputation, Chiropractors have contacted me for help and advice with all kinds of situations, big and small, wanting to know "how to" and "what to" and "can you". Then I give them the answers and solutions and techniques that they need.

This blog, then, is the course that chiropractor's didn't get while they were in college. Even chiropractic assistant training and office staff training doesn't generally include this stuff. After a while, I suppose I'll turn this into a text-book or something. For now, though, it'll be a more or less randomly organized set of essays about the details of a well-run office. I'll post the best comments. I'll update links. I'll add posts as time and demand allows. You can use is as you wish.

Disclaimer: You know your position a lot better than I do. If any thing I write here doesn't fit your experience or situation, don't use it. If you want something here clarified, corrected, amended or edited, please ask. I'm not hard to contact.

All the best to you and yours.