“There was no accountability or sense of workflow processes in place,” de Acosta says. When he talked to the staff, they said they had never been told what was expected of them, and felt overwhelmed.
Flash forward to a few years later when the practice eventually got an EMR system with a patient kiosk that allows patients to sign themselves in and schedule their own appointments. “These tools optimized staff performance and reduced redundancies,” de Acosta says. “They streamline the check-in process and other front desk processes.”
Electronic tools for the physician reception area are helping frazzled front desk staff save time and headaches, and achieve Meaningful Use as the national push for EHRs continues. According to Dan Rodrigues, CEO of Kareo medical billing software, new and lower cost front-office technology includes:
* On-demand insurance validation
With push of a button, front office staff can validate a patient that is eligible for insurance benefits for a date of service, see the co-pay amount and possibly any deductibles.
* Built-in Credit Card Tools
Front desk personnel are collecting payments more now than they have in the past. Built-in tools swipe a card without having to punch numbers into a separate merchant machine or call-in payments and increase payment accuracy.
* Check-in Kiosks
For larger medical practices, giving patients a way to“sign-in.”
* PCs/iPads
For patients to give address information, insurance data, electronically sign treatment consent forms, and fill-out their medical history, etc.
* Electronic Health Records
Replacing tedious paper chart management.
* Automated email, telephone, and text messaging appointment reminders
Confirm appointments automatically and allow front office staff more time to provide customer service to the patients in the office.
* Scanners
Simple ways to avoid copying and taping insurance cards or driver’s licenses to paper charts and allows staff in back office or clinic to see the information as well.
As practices use tools such as these to become more service-orientated and efficient, the ultimate beneficiary will be the patient, as front office staff has more time for one-on-one transactions with patients in the waiting room. High-tech helpers also can offer a reduction in redundancies (how many times have you heard, “I have to fill this out again? Didn’t I just do this last time?’) as well as higher reimbursements.
But practices need to choose the right system for the office, says de Acosta, who noted that some systems may have all kinds of “bells and whistles” but may not be the right “fit” for your office.
Of course, like any technology implementation, it’s best to follow tried and true strategies. If automated systems are being deployed, eliminate any work flow issues by role-playing scenarios with the staff to make sure they know the correct processes.
Be sure there’s a go-to person who knows how to trouble-shoot the technology, and then slowly introduce it to the waiting room. “Know the patient population. Analyze the age and technical understanding of your patients to make sure the new tools also have value for the patients, not just the staff,” says Rodrigues.
What will a medical practice’s front office look like in the future? A paperless reception area with kiosks or tablet-based systems integrated with EHRs are already in use for many practices around the country. Others predict that digital pens that convert handwritten text into digital format will be common. But a LasVegas-based tech company, WinTech, LLC, thinks they have the answer: a virtual receptionist named Alice who greets visitors and notifies employees through two-way video conversations. Whatever the configuration, as always, the patient needs to be at the forefront.
