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Our practice is stronger with a staff that multitasks.
On a recent visit
to a practice, I watched as the head of the front-office staff left her
workstation to room a patient. I was surprised to see this, and asked her
about it when she returned. "I'm a certified medical assistant by
training," she said. "We're all cross-trained."
Cross-training is what staffing is all about in today's medical practices
-- the fast (read: chaotic) pace demands that staff members help out where
and when necessary.
What does this mean for you?
There are essentially two ways to cross-train your staff: hire new people
or train internally. Make your decision based on the quality of your
existing staff. That is, you don't want to get rid of a good receptionist
just because she is not a medical assistant.
Here are some areas where I've seen cross-training work first-hand:
* Medical assistants (MAs). If you offer ancillary services, train MAs to
perform (or at least assist) in these services. One orthopedic practice I
visited had an MA who was trained to do X-rays. That meant physicians
could focus on higher paying, physician-only services, and patients were
spared annoying waits. Remember, however, that some clinical
responsibilities -- for example, giving injections -- are regulated at the
state or federal level; first check with a local attorney about the rules
in your state.
* Telephone operators. Operators who have clinical training can reduce
phone transfers and cut down on messaging by answering patient calls
themselves. Be sure to manage their role appropriately; you don't want
patients to receive poor or undocumented medical advice.
* Check-outs/referrals. Why make patients stand in line to check out?
Collect copayments and account balances when they check in. Put computers
in exam rooms so a nurse or MA can schedule follow-up visits and make any
necessary referrals on the spot.
* Rooming. So often I see physicians standing outside of exam rooms
waiting on their MA or nurse. That's not a good use of anyone's time.
Instead, train a clerical staff member to be a patient-flow coordinator.
This person will know the importance of accurate registration data, and
can be trained to take vitals, record chief complaints, and manage the
flow of traffic to make sure the physician is never idle. This position is
particularly helpful for serving four to five providers at a time.
* Billing and front office. In most practices, nearly half of every
billing staff member's job is to clean up errors created on the front end
of the office. Why not cross-train so that every billing rejection and
registration staff member can do both jobs? By cross-training, you'll
raise the level of expertise and reduce errors. It may cost a bit more in
hourly wages, but rest assured that the drop in errors (and rework) will
allow you to do more with less staff.
Take training seriously, regardless of the position. Explore the options
for training and certification for the positions you are cross-training.
It takes time and support to do it right, but the return on your employee
investment makes it worthwhile. While it will take more than an hour to
train a new X-ray technician, for example, it will save you time and
increase your earnings in the long run.
One caveat: with cross-training often comes a loss of accountability.
Employees can potentially "float" from one task to the next without really
accomplishing anything. However, good management can ensure that
cross-training instead results in an across-the-board increase in
productivity, allowing you to provide double or triple your existing
service.
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