BACK TALK SYSTEMS, INC. 14998 W. 6th Avenue, Suite E-500 Golden, CO USA 80401 USA 1-800-937-3113 CANADA 1-800-461-0100 UNITED KINGDOM 44(0) 1202-534-986 AUSTRALIA 1-800-800-963 www.backtalksystems.com Team Tip #3 FRONT DESK ORGANIZATION One of the most important things I have learned from running a busy front desk is that being organized is critical. Virtually everything must be within easy reach and easy to find because in a busy office, seconds count. If your doctor sees 50 patients a day, the front desk CA sees 100 because he/she comes in contact with the patient before and after every visit. A front desk CA must have simplified procedures and must be an efficiency expert. Even the team that is building their practice must be organized and systemized in order to grow and entice new patients. If your procedures are complicated and work intensive your practice will not grow because you can't take care of the patients you have, let alone entice more patients. If you or any one of your team is thinking, we can't even take care of the patients we already have, how can we see more patients, you will be limiting your practice. Beware of the too busy mentality. Most importantly, you must be focusing on the patient, not the paperwork! Your patients are your product, when patients are in your office, your entire team must be focused on the patient, and do as little paperwork as possible. Therefore, organization is critical for practice growth. As I have said a thousand times before, your patients judge the chiropractor by the organization of the office, professionalism of the staff, and by the good/bad experience they have during their visit! An overworked, disorganized staff is a practice buster. The front desk CA is the nucleus of the office during patient hours. He or she must be a traffic cop, diplomat, efficiency expert, collections expert, and a whiz with people. Obviously, it takes a very special person to be a great front desk CA. The most important thing of all is that they must be trained to do this job. No one should be asked to do this position without training. I firmly believe that the reason for CA burnout is due to lack of training. Following are some suggestions for organizing of the front desk: Be Prepared: No one likes to arrive for work with leftover work to do! All of yesterday's work should have been completed before leaving the office. That would include cleaning off all work surfaces (paperwork and debris). Before leaving the office, all patient files or travel cards should be pulled for the next day, that especially includes the files and travel cards that can not be located! If you canžt find them today, what makes you think you can find it tomorrow when the patient and the doctor are waiting? X-rays should be ready for any Report of Findings or re-exams, all Report of Findings written reports should be completed and ready for the patient. Additionally, all new patient files should be individualized as much as possible and ready for the patient to arrive. That would include having the new patient paperwork ready and on a clipboard with a sticky note containing the patient's name and time of arrival. At least twenty-five new patient files should always be made in advance and ready for individualization. The rule of thumb is to prepare new patient files for as many new patients as you want for that month! When most of the preparedness is completed the night before, it alleviates frustration the next morning when someone calls in sick or is late for some reason or anything else unforeseen happens which is usually the case. The front desk CA (and the other team members) should arrive at least one half hour before patients are scheduled. This gives everyone time to get the office ready to receive patients, including the chiropractor! Messages have to be taken and acted upon, patients need to be contacted, the schedule should be debugged, equipment should be turned on, and everyone should be ready when that first patient arrives. The Huddle: Just before patients arrive, the front desk CA should lead the morning huddle. That is a time when the entire team (including the chiropractor) mentally prepares for the day. The schedule should be addressed for busy times and patient issues. The huddle is a time when every team member gets energized and ready to serve your patients. Once the patient arrives, you all stand ready, organized, and best of all able to focus on the patient. Trust me, the patient will notice. The preceding information has been excerpted from The Chiropractic Team Training and Practice Management Manual written by Susan Hoy and available at Back Talk Systems. This manual contains over 200 pages of team training tips and practice management procedures and forms. Why not join the hundreds of chiropractors who have already made the commitment to organize and systemize their office. For more information contact Back Talk Systems at 800-937-3113 or log onto their website at www.backtalksystems.com. Susan Hoy has managed a busy chiropractic office since 1989. Currently, Susan travels throughout the U.S. helping teams become more organized, systemized and energized. Susan will be presenting team training events in the following areas: Springfield MA, Chicago IL, Reading PA, Albany NY, Pittsburgh PA, Louisville KY, Des Moines IA, Virginia Beach VA. For information contact Susan Hoy at 215- 674-0130 or log on to her website at www.beefitup.net.