General practice in Medicine needs to consider aspects of customer service in its day to day functions. This presentation to front office and administration staff highlights aspects of customer service that are relevant to medical practice.

1. AAPM QLD
REGIONAL STAFF
DEVELOPMENT DAY
Mark Stallwood
B.V.Sc, MBA, Dip Prac. Management,
Cert IV Workplace Trainer & Assessing,
AFAIM, MAICD, MAITD, MAAPM, MAVBA
Director Stallwood Consulting Services
Academic Director Practice Management Program UNE Partnerships

2. The Front Desk is the Key
• Customer Service
• Standards in Practice
• Phone Techniques
• Handling Complaints
• Confidentiality and Privacy

3. What is Customer Service?

4. Customer Service
• Customer’s perception of service you provide
• Positive first impression
• Reflect image of the business

5. Factors That Make Up Customer Service
• Reliability
• Responsiveness
• Competence
• Access
• Courtesy
• Communication
• Credibility
• Security
• Understanding
• Tangibles
• Focus
• Quality

6. Who Are Your Customers?
• Internal customers
• External customers
• Patients
• Family and friends
• Third party payers
• Other healthcare professionals

7. Identifying Patient Needs
• Practice approach
• What are the needs?
• Are they all the same?
• How do we monitor needs?
• How successful are we in meeting needs?

8. Patient Needs
• Common needs
• skilled and competent service from clinical
staff
• a caring and empathetic approach by all staff
• confidentiality of information
• a focus on the healthcare needs of the
patient
• access to the professional staff of their
choice at a convenient time and place.

9. Patient Needs
• Specific needs
• Vary between groups
• Vary between individuals

10. Role of Organisational Culture
•What is it?
Shared experiences and stories
about how we deal with situations.

11. Role of Organisational Culture
What makes a good culture?
• Community connections
• Having fun
• Passion
• Learning
• Sense of ownership and
identity
• Autonomy and
uniqueness
• Getting feedback
• Pay and conditions
• Recruiting the right
people
• Good built environment
• Being safe
• Clear values
• Having a say
• Workplace leadership
• Quality working
relationships

12. Internal Customer Needs
• Who are they?
• What do they want?
• What is the impact?

13. Internal Customer Needs (1)
1. Come to work on time
2. Be polite to each other
3. Answer calls quickly
4. Get back to co-workers promptly with
replies to queries
5. Provide clear guidelines of what is
expected of each other

14. Internal Customer Needs (2)
6. Define roles and responsibilities within the
practice
7. Be professional at all times
8. Go the ‘extra mile’ for each other and exceed
expectations
9. Hold customer focused ‘round tables’ to
discuss each other’s needs
10. Say THANK YOU to your work colleagues.

15. External Customer / Patient Needs
• Common needs
• skilled and competent service from clinical
staff
• a caring and empathetic approach by all staff
• confidentiality of information
• a focus on the dental care needs of the
patient
• access to the professional staff of their
choice at a convenient time and place.

16. External Customer / Patient Needs
• Specific needs
• Vary depending on individual
• Can link together to form groups
• e.g.
• Retirees
• Teenagers and young adults
• Families with both parents working

17. Collecting Information on Patient Needs
•How could we do it?
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and health
industry survey data
• Analysis of patient records

18. What Determines Our Service Standard?

19. Planning Customer Service
• Service standards
• What are they?
• Define in terms of:
• Timeliness
• Accuracy
• Appropriateness

20. Service Standards
• Need input from:
• Management
• Staff
• Patients
• Former Patients
• Competitors
• Regulatory & Accrediting bodies

21. Service Standards
• House Rules (1)
1. Break the ice.
2. Notice when someone looks confused.
3. Take time for courtesy and consideration.
4. Keep people informed.
5. Anticipate needs.
6. Respect people’s time and respond quickly.

22. Service Standards
• House Rules (2)
7. Maintain privacy and confidentiality.
8. Handle with care.
9. Maintain dignity.
10. Take the initiative.
11. Treat patients as adults.
12. Listen and act.

23. Service Standards
• House Rules (3)
13. Help each other.
14. Keep it quiet.
15. Apply telephone skills.
16. Look the part.

24. Monitoring Performance
• Customer / Patient satisfaction
• What is it?
• How do you measure it?
• What do we do about it?
• Is it important?

25. Staffing
• Staff selection
• Staff levels
• Staff training

26. Practice Design
• Can influence patient feelings
• Concerns were:
• Same waiting area for different age groups of people
• Open waiting areas
• Lack of child play areas
• Soft toys in child areas posing infection risk
• Thin walls and curtains compromising patient privacy
• Computers in rooms associated with perception of reduced eye
contact
• Physical placement of computers influenced patient sense of
connection.

27. Training Programs
• Induction programs
• Ongoing Training
• Difficult customers / Patients

28. Phone Techniques
• Know how to use the system
• The telephone voice
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Identify the practice and yourself
• On Hold etiquette
• Remember be proffesional

29. Have by the phone

30. Handling Complaints
• Not what was expected
• Highly emotional state
• Remember it is not about you
• Practice will have a protocol to follow

31. Complaint Process
• Remove from public area if vocal
• Acknowledge
• Empathise
• Promise action
• Undertake Action
• Report back to client

32. Privacy and Confidentiality
• Legislative requirements
• 10 NPP’s
• RACGP requirements
• 4th Standards
• Practice Requirements
• Day to Day

33. If you want a copy of the slides then please email me
mark@stallwoodconsulting.com.au
Mob 0414783844