Behind the Scenes: Medical Front Desk

                After shadowing our Dental Front Desk, I had to wonder if it was the same as our Medical Front Desk. Plus, those two departments are probably the most visible to all of our patients. They’re definitely our patients’ first impression. I thought, if I could hear more from them, it may also answer questions our medical patients may have. I didn’t realize how much I had gotten wrong about their team and how much I was about to learn.

                Just to give you an idea of my preconceptions of Medical Front Desk, my understanding of their jobs was basically: always on the phone, briefly interact with patients to check them in, and that they get yelled at sometimes (something that would make me cry every day, probably).

                I did the same thing while shadowing Medical Front Desk, as I did with Dental. I started off observing, asking questions, and then asking how I could help, as SFHC’s public communicator.

While observing, I heard the Front Desk staff talk with patients about prescription refills, discount cards, scheduling, billing/ payments, labs, and GFEs (good faith estimates) to name a few. It struck me that this team is essentially a dictionary for SFHC. I would not be able to have a detailed discussion with a patient about GFEs, prescription refills, or billing, let alone know all of those things all within the same hour. I didn’t realize before that moment that the Medical Front Desk team are a huge part of making the discount program work. I had just assumed they are the initial contact and appointment schedulers.

It also became clear that they have to break news to patients (appointment needing rescheduled, prescription may not be ready for a refill, etc.), that is beyond their control, every day.

Within the first five minutes of sitting with the team, a patient came in, upset that their provider hadn’t refilled their prescription, since their appointment the day prior. The team member had to take some unkind words, although she was neither the physician, nor had the ability to fill the prescription. I felt awkward hearing our staff member gracefully take the upset words and do their best to assure the patient that they would work with other members of the team to come to a resolution. She immediately was on the phone trying to determine why the prescription wasn’t ready, what was still needed, how to do that, and who needed to take what steps.

While I realized Front Desk tends to take the brunt of unkind words for the rest of us, I didn’t realize how much they had to problem solve, again, with issues that really have nothing to do with them, to make sure patients can leave feeling heard and like their concern has been or will be resolved. Just to emphasize, they really have to be a dictionary of every department to handle all the situations they see/hear on a daily basis.

After overhearing this interaction, I asked the team what made their job ‘worth it.’ This question took a while to answer as they juggled incoming patients and hordes of phone calls, as they do all day long. Fun Fact: They estimate that they each take around 100 phone calls per day. Anyways, they said what made their job ‘worth it’ was getting to know our patients, by name, and hearing, directly from the patients, how we have been able to change/ improve their lives. So, if you have kind words to share, I’d love it if this could encourage you to share your thanks and story with the Front Desk team.

As I wrap this up, I wanted to include this section of things the team thought may be helpful for patients to know:

• FYI: Sometimes, patients come in, unannounced, wanting to speak with a nurse or provider at that moment. Both nurses and providers have scheduled appointments throughout the day and may be with a patient and unable to speak with you. We want to make sure that you get your questions answered! The best way to speak to your provider or nurse, is to either sign in to your Patient Portal to message your team, OR call us to schedule a quick time to come in when your provider/nurse is available. We keep a limited number of slots open daily to allow patients to come in and ask questions, in person, if they wish. If you come in, without letting us know, your provider/nurse may not be available.

• Question: Where’s Dental?
  • As you walk in the front clinic door, signs will direct you either down the stairs or to the elevator to head downstairs for dental. If you head straight upon entering the building, pharmacy will be on your left and the medical waiting room on the right, with stairs/elevator immediately in front. If you have a dental appointment, you will check in at the Dental waiting room, not the Medical waiting room.

• Question: What is a ‘residency’ and ‘resident’?
  • Many of our medical providers are residents. A misconception is that residents are not physicians. This is not true. Residents are physicians who have completed medical school and have their MD or DO.
  • I think of residency as a continued learning opportunity for physicians, in addition to an opportunity to learn more about the type of medical care they enjoy providing most, build a practice, and to increase their reputation in the medical field. In our case, residents stay at SFHC for three years. SFHC’s goal is to help train doctors to go to rural areas in Kansas to serve communities who don’t have enough medical care for their populations.
  • We have medical providers who are not residents, if you prefer. I, personally, tell people that I enjoy having a Resident as my Primary Physician, because every three years I get another opinion and more eyes on my health. It is reassuring to know multiple physicians have talked with me and learned about me, but came to the same conclusions on how to proceed OR given me new ideas to consider.

• FYI: Check out our Patient Handbook to view our Late Policy, page 2. If we didn’t have a late policy, providers may run behind in their schedule, making everyone wait longer for their appointments. If you think you may be late or need to reschedule your appointment, please give us a call ahead of time.