Understanding How Your Front Desk Staff Affects Your Practice

The front desk staff at OB/GYN offices can have a significant impact on patient satisfaction. When patients are unhappy with the way they are treated by front desk staff in person or over the phone, this can cause them to consider switching to another women’s health provider.

To ensure that patients are treated professionally and are pleased with their visit, it’s important for doctors to take on the role of the business owner by identifying staff problems and handling them tactfully and effectively.

Phone Problems

Medical practices typically receive a large volume of calls throughout the day. During times when calls come in more frequently, it can be difficult for front desk staff to answer them promptly. Calls can also be lost when patients decide not to wait on hold after a certain amount of time.

Handling a high number of calls or fielding lengthy calls from patients during busy times can affect staff members’ ability to practice good phone etiquette. Doctors can help staff maintain high standards when it comes to phone etiquette by creating a plan to handle large call volumes more efficiently.

This might include using a patient portal or an automated phone system to direct callers to the appropriate department or extension, or tracking calls to determine when the busiest times are. During these times, doctors can make sure that the front desk is adequately staffed to handle these calls in addition to performing other routine tasks.

Patient Problems

One of the most stressful aspects of working at a front desk in a medical practice is dealing with patients who are upset or frustrated. While patients can become emotional over personal issues related to their health, many become upset over being kept waiting at the doctor’s office.

Front desk staff should receive training and advice on handling patient wait times efficiently to lower the risk of having patients become angry or upset. This can be as simple as keeping patients informed about how much longer they can expect to wait to providing them with information on why there are delays.

Equipment Problems

Front desk staff at OB/GYN offices should have computers and other equipment that is up-to-date. Having to work with older computers, printers and other equipment that runs slowly or has frequent glitches can make staff members’ jobs more stressful. ‘

Doctors should upgrade to newer hardware and software to ensure that staff members are able to perform their tasks, such as checking patients in, quickly and efficiently.

If you’re looking into ways to earn CME credit or if you’re getting ready for your boards for next year, give us a call. Remember that there’s never a bad time to get started when it comes to studying for your boards. At Perinatal Resources, we offer comprehensive CME board prep conferences for OB/GYN professionals.