BUSINESS

  business strategies

My Staff Told You What?!

Does your staff make statements and answer questions the way you expect?

GARY GERBER, O.D.

I recently called to set up an appointment with a physician who was recommended to me by a friend. The dialogue:

Me: Hi, I’d like to see Dr. Payne.

Receptionist: Sure, have you been here before?

Me: No.

Receptionist: OK, what insurance do you have?

Me: XYZ.

Receptionist: Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t accept XYZ.

Me: I’m happy to pay out of pocket to see Dr. Payne. I heard he’s awesome.

Receptionist: I understand, but if we don’t take your insurance, we can’t see you.

Me: I understand you don’t take XYZ insurance, and I’d like to see Dr. Payne and pay for my visit myself.

Receptionist: I’m sorry. Our office policy is that if we don’t take your insurance, we can’t see you as a patient, even if you’re willing to pay for it.

Me: [Smacking my forehead.]

Say what?!

For all the woes and complaining O.D.s do about insurance companies (and much of it is deserved), I have yet to meet a doctor who won’t see a non-insurance patient willing to pay for a visit or an insurance company that imposes that sort of restriction on a practice. So, my point here is to make sure your staff isn’t saying anything like the above.

Never assume

Think about whether Dr. Payne, in this case, actually knows what his staff says to patients. (Of course, in addition to turning away cash patients, starting a dialogue with “What insurance do you have?” is bad policy, too.)

Though you may have discussed with staff how to handle various scenarios on the phone (price shoppers, complaints, etc.), is your preferred messaging actually being delivered to patients?

Having sat in literally hundreds of O.D. reception areas, I’ve overhead many times, “I’m sorry. We don’t take your insurance” with no continued dialogue that, hopefully, was discussed at multiple staff meetings.

No joke

Like Nero, who was fiddling while Rome was burning, are you in your exam room while your staff is damaging your practice by inappropriately answering the phone? “Sorry, if you want that taken care of, you have to see a real doctor.”

Yes, I HAVE heard all the above more than once and in practices where doctors swear I must be joking or need to get my hearing checked.

So, what to do? The answer is, hopefully, obvious.

1. Acknowledge that there could be a disconnect between what you hope is said to patients and what is actually said.

2. Address the above concern with staff.

3. Fix the problem, or at the very least, get out in front of a potential problem.

Give your staff the concepts you’d like conveyed, and let them use their own words. Next, have friends and family call, and ask them to record the calls. Let staff know in advance that this will be happening, and that it is being done to improve the telephone experience for your patients, NOT to “bust” your staff. When problems pop up, address them right away, and repeat the above steps.

Maybe you won’t be surprised by what your staff tells patients, but you should make sure you know what they’re saying! OM

DR. GERBER IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE POWER PRACTICE, A COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN MAKING OPTOMETRISTS MORE PROFITABLE. LEARN MORE AT WWW.POWERPRACTICE.COM, OR CALL DR. GERBER AT (888) 356-4447.