This document discusses how customer service impacts the bottom line for healthcare practices. It begins with an introduction and schedule for the presentation. It then discusses how customer service has traditionally been non-existent in healthcare, except for certain specialties. Poor customer service can result in longer wait times, rude staff, an unkempt practice environment, and poor administrative follow-up. However, practices with great customer service are less likely to be sued. The presentation provides tips for improving customer service and reducing wait times. It emphasizes the financial value patients provide to a practice over their lifetime and stresses the importance of patient retention through strong customer service. Finally, it introduces Kareo's role in helping practices improve customer, scheduling, and billing functions.

1. How Customer Service
Impacts Your Bottom Line

2. Your Hosts Today…
Rochelle Glassman
President, United Physician Services, LLC
www.upshealthcare.com
Terry Douglas
Marketing Team, Kareo
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3. How to Participate Today…
Follow us on Twitter
@GoKareo
We’ll be tweeting live using
the hashtag #KareoTip
Join our other social media channels for
constant updates!
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4. Our Schedule for Today…
1
Introduction & Welcome Rochelle
2
How Customer Service Impacts
Your Bottom Line
3
Discover Kareo’s Role
4
Answer Questions
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5. Rochelle Glassman
•
Nationally-recognized healthcare consultant
•
Former executive-level consultant for Cigna
•
Healthcare business entrepreneur
•
30 years of healthcare business experience
•
President/CEO United Physician Services, LLC
•
Physician Advocate
•
Trauma-trained RN
Rochelle@UPSHealthcare.com
www.UPSHealthcare.com
602.685.9500
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6. Our Schedule for Today…
1
Introduction & Welcome Rochelle
2
How Customer Service Impacts
Your Bottom Line
3
Discover Kareo’s Role
4
Answer Questions
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7. Customer Service in Healthcare
• Traditionally non-existent in the
healthcare field—except for certain
specialties:
 Concierge practices
 Elective/plastic
surgery practices
 Medical spas
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8. Customer Service in Healthcare
Did you know?
Providers and practices with
great customer service skills are
LESS likely to be sued for
malpractice—irrespective of the
treatment provided to the patient
and the outcome!
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9. Customer Service in Healthcare: The Issues
• Wait times and poor schedule management
• Rude or inattentive staff
• Disorderly or unkempt practice
• Not using active listening skills
• Poor administrative follow-up
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10. Wait Times and Poor Schedule Management
• National average wait time: 23 minutes
• Neurosurgeons have highest average wait: 30 minutes
• Optometrists have shortest average wait time: 17 minutes
If your wait time is too long, it encourages your patients to
book appointments during inconvenient times (evening and
lunch times) and reduces the practice’s ability to maintain
steady patient flow throughout the day. This creates a system
that ‘feeds’ on itself and makes wait times even longer.
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11. Wait Times and Poor Schedule Management
• Extended hours—schedule
should be based on patient
convenience, not employee
convenience.
• Today, even some banks stay
open 6-7 days a week from early
morning until evening hours.
• Make sure you maintain
appointment slots for urgent care
and same day appointments.
• Allow patients to schedule at their
own convenience online.
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12. Wait Times and Poor Schedule Management
• Manage your schedule and staff to reduce wait times:
 Manage your MAs. They must work at a reasonable pace.
 Manage appointments according to estimated time to treat (ETT):
• Is this a patient with a cold? (8-10 minutes) or a yearly checkup? (15-30
minutes). Make sure you differentiate the types of visits you have an block
off time accordingly.
• If you are running behind, split the wait time between the
waiting room and the examination room—patients will feel
like they’re waiting less.
• Notify the patient if you are running more than 30 minutes
behind schedule and offer to reschedule.
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13. Inattentive and Rude Staff
• Often happens in healthcare—it’s a stressful environment.
• Staff tend to be assigned conflicting job responsibilities
such as answering the phone, performing data, AND
greeting patients.
• Communication is often not personable.
• Patients are not always feeling well.
• Hire the right personality—usually a biller does not make a
great greeter.
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14. Inattentive and Rude Staff
• Define and separate your staff roles:
 An employee who is assigned to greet patients can not
effectively answer the phone at the same time.
 Patients on the phone, and in person, feel like they don’t
have your attention.
 Make sure you separate the responsibility either by person
or by time.
• Have providers practice active listening skills.
• Do not discuss financial situations with patients when
other patients can hear.
• Do not allow your staff to gossip in front of patients.
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15. Inattentive and Rude Staff
• Implement a customer service program.
 Have your staff smile when they answer the phone. The act of smiling is
conveyed in your voice.
 Greet the patient by name.
 Have your staff keep eye contact with patients.
 Your receptionist is your first point of contact. Make sure he or she is
trained to make patients feel comfortable.
 Answer the phone on the second ring. Do not have an ‘auto attendant’
answer the phone if you have the resources to do so.
 Ask patients if they don’t mind being put on hold instead of announcing
that they will be put on hold.
 Set policies that all patient calls are returned by the end of the day.
 Make sure patients are not put on hold for more than two minutes.
 Maintain a zero-tolerance policy regarding rudeness to patients.
 Call patients back when you say you will.
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16. Customer/Patient Feedback
• Implement a customer feedback program
 Send your patients a feedback form via email for new visits.
 Send a feedback form thereafter every year.
 These feedback forms can be the eyes of ears of your practice.
Patients can describe the problems they see with your practice
from an important viewpoint—the customer’s!
 Send a survey to patients you have not seen for a year. They may
have left and you don’t even know it yet.
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17. The Unkempt Practice
If your waiting room or practice is busy or messy, it tends to
create a stressful environment for patients. It also portrays
disorganization. The office must be clean at all times.
Maintain a policy for picking up the waiting room every day.
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18. Customer Service
Increased
Patient
Retention
Increased
Patient
Satisfaction
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Increased
Revenue
Customer
Service
Increase
Clinical
Outcomes

19. What is the Value of a Patient to a Practice?
Let’s assume a patient has at least one physical per year, and
a few sick visits. That equates to about $500 per year or
$25,000 over the lifetime of the patient. But this is a pretty
conservative estimate.
If the patient has a disease, let’s say diabetes, heart disease,
or obesity, then that amount can easily exceed $100,000.
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20. But You Can’t Please Them All
• Sometimes, having the best customer service isn’t
enough. You may have a disruptive patient who
causes problems for your practice:
 Non-compliant patients can become a liability—EVEN IF
YOU HAVE DOCUMENTED THE NON-COMPLIANCE. A
lawsuit can still occur that ends-up being cheaper to
settle, but happens to your liability premiums?
 Patients who are lewd or rude to you and your staff
should not be tolerated:
• Take issues of sexual abuse from a patient to your staff very
seriously. You could be held accountable if you don’t handle
the situation correctly.
• You may lose the revenue, but it’s not worth the
liability.
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21. How to Terminate a Patient
• You need to avoid a claim of
patient abandonment.
• This can’t be done during a critical
stage of treatment.
• You can not refuse a patient if they
owe money and show up for an
appointment. You can reschedule
a preventative visit but must treat
an acute visit.
• Some offices terminate a patient
over a $25 copay—but look at the
big picture—it’s not worth losing a
patient over $25.
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22. How to Terminate a Patient
• Giving the patient written notice, preferably by certified mail,
return receipt requested;
• Providing the patient with a brief explanation for terminating the
relationship (this should be a valid reason such as noncompliance or failure to keep appointments);
• Agreeing to continue to provide treatment and access to
services for a reasonable period of time, such as 30 days, to
allow a patient to secure care from another person (a physician
may want to extend the period for emergency services);
• Providing resources and/or recommendations to help a patient
locate another physician of like specialty; and
• Offering to transfer records to a newly-designated physician
upon signed patient authorization to do so.
Source: American Medical Association
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23. Additional Resources
•
Job Description
–
•
front desk / check-in position with focus on customer care.
Patient Satisfaction Survey
–
–
•
Paper form to download and use for your patients
Let us know if you would like us to help with online survey you can email to your patients.
Value of a Patient Calculator
–
Easy tool to help you calculate cost
Visit www.upshealthcare.com/store
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24. Our Schedule for Today…
1
Introduction & Welcome Rochelle
2
How Customer Service Impacts
Your Bottom Line
3
Discover Kareo’s Role
4
Answer Questions
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25. Discover Kareo’s Role
“…Make Your Practice a Best Practice!”
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26. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Cloud-based
• Medical Billing
• Patient Payment Services
• Insurance Billing & Remittance
• Scheduling & Practice Management
• Electronic Health Records
• Patient Portal
• Medical Billing Services
20,000 Providers Nationwide
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27. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Scheduling
– Multi provider
– time allocation
– Reason code
– Reminders!
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28. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Scheduling
• Manage
Patient Calls
– Put in tasks
– Track, audit
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29. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Scheduling
• Manage
Patient Calls
• Reports
– Patient Account
Ledger
– How much did we
sell to this patient
this year? ($4K)
– Since we first saw
the patient?
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30. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Scheduling
• Manage
Patient Calls
• Reports
– Patient Account
Ledger
– Itemization of
Charges
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31. Discover Kareo’s Role
• Scheduling
• Manage
Patient Calls
• Reports
• Online
Appointment
Request
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32. Discover Kareo’s Role
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33. Our Schedule for Today…
1
Introduction & Welcome Rochelle
2
How Customer Service Impacts
Your Bottom Line
3
Discover Kareo’s Role
4
Answer Questions
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34. Let’s Answer Your Questions
888.775.2736 x1
sales@kareo.com
Live Chat @
http://kareo.com/chat
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35. How Customer Service
Impacts Your Bottom Line
Thank you for attending!
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