Phone tips

One of the greatest skills you can have is good phone etiquette. Much of your day will be spent on the phone and how you handle the phone can really step you apart.
Create a good impression:
· Answer promptly; most offices require that the phones be answered by the third or fourth ring.
· Always answer with a friendly greeting. Most companies have a format to use. Try smiling when you speak on the phone, the listener can hear the smile.
· Do not chew food, gum or drink something while on the phone.
· Do not use your keyboard if possible-the caller can hear the clicking.
· Speak clearly and slowly and modulate your voice. Either raise your voice if they are hard of hearing or lower it, if you have a normally loud voice.
· Move the receiver two-finger widths away from your mouth to provide a cleaner sound.
· Keep in mind who can hear your conversation. Be careful giving out personally identifiable information over the phone when other patients can hear you. Due to HIPAA, ask the caller to identify themselves and give a piece of personal information to identify them before discussing any information related to medical care, appointments, or billing. If the caller is not the patient then check the chart to ensure that you are able to speak to the person

Putting Callers on Hold
· Before you place the person on-hold, ask permission. If they ask why, provide an answer.
· When taking a caller off of hold, always thank them for holding.

Transferring a call
· If the caller needs to speak to another person or department, please transfer the caller directly to the desired person's extension, not to the operator. This will save the caller having to explain his/her requests another time, and it will cut the number of times the caller needs to be transferred.
· When transferring a caller, tell them who you are transferring them to and how they can reach that person directly in the future, and announce the caller to the person you are transferring them to.

Taking Phone Messages
When taking messages include the following details:
Callers name and company (if applicable)
Time and date of call
If a return call is required
When and where they would like called as well as a possible alternate number
What the call is regards to

Ending
Always thank them for calling and let them hang up first. This allows think to feel that their call was important and you were not rushing to get rid of them.

Phone skills are an important part of doing business and a true professional works consistently on improving their phone skills. You should always use professional manners, you never know who is really on the line. Due to HIPAA and common courtesy, we should be very cautious about what information is given over the phone. I can say that I am anyone, but how can I prove it? Name and date of birth are easy to obtain. I often ask the patient to identify something on the chart, such as who they have as their contact. If permission was given to another person to give information to, they should be able to give information about the patient, such as date of birth or Social Security number. Have a plan that follows office and HIPAA guidelines on what information is to be given and how to give it.

Things to consider when on the phone:
Can anyone overhear this conversation? If you are calling patients and other patients might overhear personal information about your patient, you might need to consider moving when making calls.

Are you sure that the person on the phone is entitled to the information? Is it the patient on the phone or a family member? Do you have permission from the patient to speak to this person?

Is this highly personal material? Is this PHI (Personal Health Information) something of a confidential nature, such as communicable disease, mental illness, disability, related to abuse or addiction of any kind? If so, take extra precautions when discussing information.

A few guidelines that should be considered when phoning patients include:
· Did you check the patient’s chart to make sure they have not given a preferred method of communication or have limited what can be given?
· Did the patient give permission for another person to have access to any information?
· Is it alright to leave a message? It is hard to tell if it is a secured answering machine or if others have access to it, when leaving messages it is best to give to leave your company’s name or abbreviations if applicable, and number to call back. For appointment reminders leave the date of appointment and a call back number. Many times I have heard staff leave the reason for the appointment, such as mammogram, x-ray, labs, etc. Don’t do that, what if the person listening did not know that your patient was scheduled for labs for STD, they may not want them to know. Use common sense when leaving messages. If there are instructions or results, have them call you back.
· If you have to transfer the call, put them on hold, or call them back once you have the answers, let them know. Know one expects you to know everything; people will appreciate if you tell them that you want to verify something before you answer their question.
· If the person on the phone is rude to you, try to stay clam. Try to remain diplomatic and polite. Getting angry will only make them angrier. Always show willingness to resolve the problem or conflict. Try to think like the caller. Remember, their problems and concerns are important. Patients are often sick, in pain, or scared; keep in mind that this may be a bad time for them. Offer to have your supervisor talk to the caller or call him/her back if the caller persists. Speak slowly and calmly. Be firm with your answers, but understanding.
Your telephone policies can set you apart from others, in a good way or a bad way depending on how you handle them. Evaluate how yourself and see how you are doing. Then see what can be done differently to improve the phone conversations.

By having a polite consistent phone manner, you can set yourself apart from others. You can be a leader and professional in part by the image that you project.

Source: PMSA Front Desk Training Module One