Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Increase patient and provider satisfaction by reducing phone messages

Rosemarie Nelson
Physician
January 12, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

Incoming telephone calls should be a good thing in a medical practice, right? Requests for appointments from new patients and established patients are the lifeblood of the practice. But for many practices, the phones are an overwhelming burden for everyone, from the receptionist and nurse to the provider with an inbox full of patient messages to sort through.

In general, approximately 25% of incoming calls to a medical practice are repeat calls because the reason for the first call is still unresolved. More than half of the calls are for non-appointment requests — patients asking for prescription re-issues and test results, for instance, or who have general health questions.

Why are there so many calls? And, even worse, why do so many of the calls result in messages for the doctor?

How can you eliminate waste and improve customer relations in your phone operations? Start with a simple manual tracking of how many calls come in each hour for prescription requests, test results, appointment requests, and other questions for the nurse/doctor.

How many of these calls result in taking a message from the patient? Several messages result in scheduling visits for patients; why aren’t the appointments just scheduled instead of taking a message and then ultimately scheduling (or adding on) the patient visit? Create an initiative among your team to reduce the number of messages.

How many times are calls transferred? Would it be more effective to provide direct lines rather than a call-switching step in the process? Design operations to reduce the time to deliver the service. There is no value added by a phone operator answering a call, listening to the patient’s story, and then transferring the call to a nurse who will also need to listen to that story. Provide direct lines to nursing by adding an option to your auto-attendant to dial directly to a nurse.

Eliminate telephone requests for prescription reissues by writing prescriptions for chronic medications to last until the next visit (i.e., if a patient is to be seen in 6 months, the medication order should be for 90 days with one refill).

Manage your volume of messages. Make the number of messages, by reason for the message, a monthly metric to review.

Another metric to manage is your patient Web portal utilization. Train all your staff (front desk, nursing, billing, and physicians) to direct patients to your Web portal for prescription refill requests, as well as other functions that will improve communication efforts for them. Your on-hold message should instruct patients about the functionality available via the portal (scheduling appointments, requesting prescription refills, viewing lab results, etc.).

Standardize schedule slots for all providers on the Web portal to allow patients to schedule appointments themselves. Imagine the delight of the patients when they realize they don’t have to wait for your phone lines to open to schedule an appointment; they can do it online.

All staff members whose jobs include extensive phone work (staff who answer phone calls, inbox triage nurses, those who handle referrals and prescription refills) should be trained more extensively on the portal functionality from the patient’s perspective so they can comfortably speak to patients about it and even assist the patient attempting to use the portal.

To reduce telephone “waste,” establish and articulate your expectations for the staff; implement the change with dedicated training for all staff, nurses, and providers; monitor and modify the changes as necessary but allow the change to take hold before reacting to the immediate, and natural, resistance to change.

Focus on the target of reducing messages and share the metrics across the practice.

ADVERTISEMENT

Reduced phone messages will allow more time for interacting during patient encounters, which increases satisfaction for all.

Rosemarie Nelson is principal, MGMA Health Care Consulting Group and blogs at Practice Pointers.

Prev

For the medical home to be successful, listen to the patients

January 12, 2014 Kevin 20
…
Next

Radiation therapy is a leap of faith

January 12, 2014 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
For the medical home to be successful, listen to the patients
Next Post >
Radiation therapy is a leap of faith

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Rosemarie Nelson

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    How to improve patient engagement

    Rosemarie Nelson
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    What’s your plan for the transition to ICD-10?

    Rosemarie Nelson
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    7 golden rules to optimize EHR implementation

    Rosemarie Nelson

More in Physician

  • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

    Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO
  • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

    Dr. Poulami Mazumder
  • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

    Emma Fenske, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Increase patient and provider satisfaction by reducing phone messages
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...