Does this aggravate you???

[Samandmom]

I have not read all the responses but what really bothers me at my kids Dr...
She used to work for an office with another Dr. and a nurse (who would also answer the phone) She now runs a small officee ALL by herself. She answers the phone, takes patients, does officee work and so on. Half the time I have to leave a message when I call, and she does not return the call all the time. She only works Monday - Thursday 10-3 I am going to look into another Dr.

 

[NotUrsula]

If we staggered lunches, there wouldn't be enough staff to handle patients after lunch

More than one person has said this, but I don't get it. Everywhere that I have ever worked has had staff stagger lunches, and at no time is the place ever a ghost town. What is so different about medical offices that staff cannot be properly scheduled for coverage? I've managed large staffs in places that needed coverage for 72 hours a week, and I never found any problem in having the place staffed properly even with staggered meal breaks (lunch AND dinner, in our case.)

While we're on the subject of "medical offices are different", I have to ask this one. Why is it that every time you get a new records-mgmt program, standard procedure is to re-enter each account manually? That really is NOT necessary. It's easily possible to batch-convert those records; I used to do it for a living for other types of businesses; including the US Dept. of Defense. HIPAA is not a barrier to doing it.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

More than one person has said this, but I don't get it. Everywhere that I have ever worked has had staff stagger lunches, and at no time is the place ever a ghost town. What is so different about medical offices that staff cannot be properly scheduled for coverage? I've managed large staffs in places that needed coverage for 72 hours a week, and I never found any problem in having the place staffed properly even with staggered meal breaks (lunch AND dinner, in our case.)

While we're on the subject of "medical offices are different", I have to ask this one. Why is it that every time you get a new records-mgmt program, standard procedure is to re-enter each account manually? That really is NOT necessary. It's easily possible to batch-convert those records; I used to do it for a living for other types of businesses; including the US Dept. of Defense. HIPAA is not a barrier to doing it.

In the offices that you worked, did you have people/patients constantly coming and going? It also depends on what type of practice it is. I have worked in different specialities and each office is different and some do procedures in office, some which aren't necessarily scheduled before hand and some offices that sent all procedures out to the hospital.

One office (Urologist) scheduled only visits with the nurse in the morning and the doctor was at the hospital doing surgery and seeing Inpts, then after lunch he began seeing office appts, one day a week he was in the office the entire day. This office staggered lunches, at least for the front office staff, but that was reasonable, because of the lower patient load in the morning and having multiple clerical staff.

It really is going to depend on the type practice, and whether the doctor has surgery to do, most of which scheduled ones are done in the morning, or whether they practice more in an office setting only, with only a few patients needed to be seen at the hospital. It is also going to depend on how much staff the office has. As I said in an earlier post, we had multiple staff in the morning, but after 12, I was the only staff, except for the lab tech and she was an employee of the lab and couldn't handle office situations. She would watch the window for a minute if I had to run to the restroom.

I'm not 100% sure what you are asking in your second question. In the offices I worked in, medical records were paper, not electronic, but alot has probably changed, I have worked in a hospital for the last 7 years.

 

[tlbwriter]

More than one person has said this, but I don't get it. Everywhere that I have ever worked has had staff stagger lunches, and at no time is the place ever a ghost town. What is so different about medical offices that staff cannot be properly scheduled for coverage? I've managed large staffs in places that needed coverage for 72 hours a week, and I never found any problem in having the place staffed properly even with staggered meal breaks (lunch AND dinner, in our case.)

I agree. If your office is so hectic that you must basically close to customers for an hour in the middle of the day to catch up, it sounds like you're short-staffed. At my place of employment, our customer service staff staggers their lunches, as do our admins, so there is always phone coverage. Seems to work for us.

 

[belle&beast]

Everyone is legally entitled to lunch and if a call to a doctor is critical people will find the 2 minutes to make an appointment.

Saw this reply and had to respond... I agree that everyone should get a lunch, however I have never made a quick 2 minute call to a doctor. I am a speech pathologist in preschools and we get 30 minute lunches, during the time most places are closed. Usually after calling and listening to many options, I choose the right one to get a receptionist, then she answers and places me on hold. After I explain my issue to her, she will either place me on hold to speak with a nurse, or take my number for a nurse to call me back later, which is usually hours later. It just is not usually a quick call.

I am very happy with my current pediatrician's office, even with their lunch hour off. I understand everyone needs a break, but staggered lunches do work in some offices. My OBGYN's office is a large group and they have at least two nurses answering calls all day long, never a break from the phone for lunch. I really did appreciate that. It is probably a huge expense, but as a patient, it made me feel like I came first.

 

[NotUrsula]

It is also going to depend on how much staff the office has. As I said in an earlier post, we had multiple staff in the morning, but after 12, I was the only staff, except for the lab tech and she was an employee of the lab and couldn't handle office situations. She would watch the window for a minute if I had to run to the restroom.

Yes, the facilities do have clients constantly coming and going, and needing help.

It would seem to me that understaffing is the problem in many of these situations. I understand that it may be difficult to find nurses willing to work odd hours or part-time shifts, but surely it shouldn't be too difficult to find clerical staff that are willing to do so; if you have enough business to swamp them, then it follows that you have enough business to pay them.

If this is common throughout the industry, then the industry needs to re-think staffing patterns. Customer service is customer service, even when the service provider is a medical professional. In my lifetime I've had several otherwise good doctors that I have left because I found their office staffs incompetent (and near every time it was the case that the office staff was made up largely of people who were related to the doctor in some way.)

 

[cluvsdisney]

I would be surprised if I encountered an office closing in the middle of the day. I used to work for a busy dentist office and we never closed the phones. They came off night service at 9am and stayed on until 6pm.

Although, I do have one doctor with odd hours like 9-3 on Mondays, closed on Tuesdays, 12-8 on Wednesday, 1-5 on Fridays. The voice mail picks up at other times stating to call back when the office is open but at first I didn't know when that was and there wasn't an option to leave a message. That was aggrevating!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Yes, the facilities do have clients constantly coming and going, and needing help.

It would seem to me that understaffing is the problem in many of these situations. I understand that it may be difficult to find nurses willing to work odd hours or part-time shifts, but surely it shouldn't be too difficult to find clerical staff that are willing to do so; if you have enough business to swamp them, then it follows that you have enough business to pay them.

If this is common throughout the industry, then the industry needs to re-think staffing patterns. Customer service is customer service, even when the service provider is a medical professional. In my lifetime I've had several otherwise good doctors that I have left because I found their office staffs incompetent (and near every time it was the case that the office staff was made up largely of people who were related to the doctor in some way.)

I do agree that some practices are understaffed. If you had been working at this office, and been through what this doctor had with some previous staff, you would understand why we were staffed the way we were.

I can guarantee that anyone complaining about this on a message board isn't going to change anything. I don't think there is an industry standard, most office standards are set up by the individual practices.

I am not going to leave a practice of a very qualified, competant doctor because of their staff. My doctor has a very frustrating staff, well, I don't think I have ever seen the same staff in there twice, but I am not going to leave her practice because of that, she is one of the best doctors in town, that would be stupid.

To each their own. This practice has been customary for a very long time, some do it some don't. And, as I said, until you have actually worked in that capacity, you won't understand. If we didn't have to deal with whiney, complaining patients, our time might otherwise be managed more appropriately.

 

[SaraJayne]

I do agree that some practices are understaffed. If you had been working at this office, and been through what this doctor had with some previous staff, you would understand why we were staffed the way we were.

I can guarantee that anyone complaining about this on a message board isn't going to change anything. I don't think there is an industry standard, most office standards are set up by the individual practices.

I am not going to leave a practice of a very qualified, competant doctor because of their staff. My doctor has a very frustrating staff, well, I don't think I have ever seen the same staff in there twice, but I am not going to leave her practice because of that, she is one of the best doctors in town, that would be stupid.

To each their own. This practice has been customary for a very long time, some do it some don't. And, as I said, until you have actually worked in that capacity, you won't understand. If we didn't have to deal with whiney, complaining patients, our time might otherwise be managed more appropriately.

Gee, silly me. Here I thought dealing with patients was your job.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our office is never opened past 3 for in office appts and no weekends. They are surgeons so they are oncall for emergency surgeries etc- but no office hours. I think it's reasonable for folks to take off from work if they need an appointment.

I think it's reasonable for a family doctor to be open evenings so their customers don't need to take off work and to take their children out of school.

Surgeons I can understand.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Funny, I was just trying to reach the orthodontist. They are closed for two hours for lunch.

 

[tlbwriter]

I think it's reasonable for a family doctor to be open evenings so their customers don't need to take off work and to take their children out of school.

Surgeons I can understand.

This. I expect a family practice or pediatrician to have some evening/weekend hours. Not a surgeon. I might realize at 5:30 that my child needs a doctor, but I seldom realize at 5:30 that I need a surgeon. And if so, that's what the ER is for.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

In possibly related news, I just called the doggy doctor and they were open, even though it is between 12 and 2.

 

[NotUrsula]

I am not going to leave a practice of a very qualified, competant doctor because of their staff. My doctor has a very frustrating staff, well, I don't think I have ever seen the same staff in there twice, but I am not going to leave her practice because of that, she is one of the best doctors in town, that would be stupid.

In every case where I've done it, I have mentioned my concerns and intentions to the doctor during a visit, and why. Some physicians are glad to hear about my dissatisfaction and do something to improve the situation, and others make excuses (and invariably the ones that make excuses are the ones who are employing their wife's nephew or some such.) I live in a major city with two medical schools; I have choices.

I have no issue whatever in mentioning a customer service issue to the physician if the physician employs the staff; if it is a clinic I will voice my concerns to the Office Mgr. If you are going to run a service business, your clients deserve that the service from EVERYONE who works for you should be good, not just the service that you provide directly. If you're not a good manager or don't have the time to manage, then either hire someone to do it for you or work for a practice that does.

I do not whine. I make legitimate customer service complaints only when they are warranted, but if I've got a situation where someone is clearly falling down on the job (lost test orders, insurance paperwork improperly filed multiple times, etc.), or where there is some kind of consistent procedural problem that is taking up an extraordinary amount of my time, then yes, I'm going to say something. I don't complain about one-off situations, because anyone can have a bad day, but when service is consistently a problem, I do mention it.(FWIW, I also compliment employees who go above and beyond, and I do that in writing, too.)

 

[TinkPirateMom]

I just don't think an office turning off their phones for an hour lunch break is a customer service problem. It is just an office policy/schedule. No big deal.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Gee, silly me. Here I thought dealing with patients was your job.

It is, when they have a medical issue, it is not when you are calling to whine about office hours.

I won't comment on offices where family works, I am against those and have worked in one that I don't know how he is still in practice, but that is another subject.


There is just no way to explain it that you are going to understand. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it wrong. It doesn't mean there is a staffing issue or any issue for that matter. I don't know any doctor that is going to change his office hours or the phone system to suit a patient complaining about them, or as you put it advising him about his customer service practices. Not all doctors think that their staff needs to be available to the patients during all hours. That is what an answering service is for.

 

[busychica]

nope, I used to work in the dr. office where I now take my kids. I know what it was like getting that one hour break in a crazy, hectic, day and I don't blame them at all for all going at once.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

The first few times I encountered it, it bugged me because I'd be trying to make doc appointments when most of my office was out to lunch so they wouldn't hear my business.

It always turned out that was when my docs office closed for lunch too. So then I'd use a conference room real quick and that worked really well until I got the new boss who was always using it.

Now that I'm not in cubicle world anymore, I can call anytime so it doesn't bug me.

 

[wdwmom2]

If we didn't have to deal with whiney, complaining patients, our time might otherwise be managed more appropriately.

Gee, silly me. Here I thought dealing with patients was your job.

SaraJayne, I do understand what you are saying, but leave me give you a good example of what PrincessSuzanne may be trying to say.

I work in an office with 4 peds and 1 NP. The one doc is ALWAYS late. I am talking walking in the office 30-45 minutes after her first patient of the day arrives. The doc is a partner, not an employee, can't be fired. And her patients love her. Has been talked to MANY times about this, scheduled to start later because of arriving later, etc, doesn't matter, always late!!!!

It drives everyone in the office batty!!!! ANYONE who is her regular patient knows she doesn't run on time. EVER!!!! But they still book with her. I swear, her patients WORSHIP her!!!Well, we will have parents come out of the room and get snipey with any employee they see, asking when is the doc coming. We check with the doc's assistant. Then inform them if they are next or where they are in the order.

Now, when the doc finally makes it to the room, the parents act like she walks on water and the Red Sea is about to part. So, instead of voicing your concerns to the person that is the cause of the problem, they smooze her and give us employees the backlash.

So, instead of being able to assist my doc, I am now trying to find out how long it will be before they are seen.

I love this doc as a person, she is a good doc, but I would never take my children to see her because of her poor time management. My time is more valuable than that!!!

One other, prescription refills. When you need a refill, you are told it may take 24-48 until it is ready. This is not a new policy, has been this way forever. Well, you have some people that call in because they just used their last pill and need it NOW. Now, depending on what the med is for, we try to accommodate getting it done right away. But that involves the employee that takes care of refills being away from her desk waiting for a doc to come out of an exam room, explaining the situation, and getting the rx signed (or OK'd if it can be called in to the pharmacy). So now, because the parent doesn't call in for the refill at the proper time, the employee is now pulled away from her desk and incoming calls to take care of something the parent should have been on top of in the first place!! When we do this, we do remind the parent that they need to call in several days before they are out of their meds. But, some people never learn and are repeat offenders.

 

[locolala]

Wow OP, you'd hate my docs then. 12-1 is lunch, and every Thursday they are only open from 7am till noon, and they have training stuff all afternoon. That's how my OB/GYN, Ali's ped, my GP, and my neurologist are. Nobody answers their phone during training, it just goes to voicemail.