Communication and Practice Management Procedures Flashcards
Communication overview
Good communication in all forms id the backbone of any run organization. Learn about interpersonal communication allows you to communicate what you mean and to connectedly interpret what other say and do.
A number of factors affect communication. specifically factors related to the sender and reciver, the decoding and feedback.
Communication:
-sender encoding
-channel
-decoding
-receiver
-feedback
-two way.
Verbal comminication
various forms of communication help us understnad human behavior. Communication pathways inclusde verbal communication and nonverbal communication.
Verbal communication consistes for words that are spoken. when dealing with patients, always select work that will not frighten, intimidate or upset a patient, alway remember that patient are the key to your sccess.
maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Psychologies Abraham Maslow studies what he referred to as exeplary people such as abert einstein and sleanor roosevelt.
Throught this research, he established that there are many levels of human need. IN this 1943 , A theory of human motivation” he outlined these need.
His hierarchy of needs is displayed in pyramid. One the botton of the pyramid are are the largest and most basic human needs such as food, health, and sleep. As you move up the pyramid your needs move toward the goal of self actualization.
Study the components carefully and think how each level applies to communication with cowokers and patients.
Nonverbal communication
Another type of communication pathway is nonverbal communication.
nonverbal communication.L messages conveyed without speaking. they can be converted by such things as body language,gestures, tone of vocie and facial expressions.
-body language
-gastures
-tone of voice
-facial expressions.
working with patients
when communication with patient you need to understand their psychological needs, previous dental experience, and attitudes and beliefs about the importance of their teeth.
MAnt patient experience anxiety or have fear of pain when they go to the dentist. these fears can be considered wither subjective or objective.
Subjective fears: known as acquired fear are based on feelings, attitudes and concers that have developed in response to the suggestions of peers, siblings and other adults
Objective fears: also knows as learned fears are related to the patient’s experiences and recall of those experiences.
Tips to meet your patient’s needs
As a dental assistant, you can so specific thing to help your patients:
-Foster a positive atmosphere.
-Demonstrate sincerity
-show respect
-respect the patient’s time
-remain approachable
-respect patient confidentility
-
Listing to patients
communication also involves listing to the patient. listening requires a great deal of self control ad concentration. The following are tips to the strength your listing skills.
-put aside personal concerns when the patient is taking
- dont’ let you mind wander
- don’t concentrate on formulation a reply
-concentrate on what the patient is actually saying
- look as well as listen in order to pick up both the verbal and nonverbal information the patient is transmitting.
teamwork
skills of teamwork
-being flexible and receptive
-being a got getter
-showing appreciation
-thinking before specking
-not letting your emotions get involved
-recognizing that the first impression is not always right one
-sharing the ups and downs of the day.
-realizing your way is not always the right way
Channels of communication
communication at many levels:
-Downword: comes from the top trickles down to employees.
-Horizontal: also called peer to peer communication. it might include day to day communication office or daily goals and patient flow.
-Upward: flow of communication from lower level to upper level. this might include solving feedback and conflict resolution
-Informal: including gossip or grapevine communications
stress managment
You might experience stress in your work environment. Be sure aware of how handle your stress when it occurs:
Causes of stress:
-Lack of sufficient staff
-appointment overbooking
-multiple task required simultaneously
-lack of good communication
-perceived lack of job advancement
How to reduce stress
- Exercise regularly
- take some time off
-leave the office behind you when go home
-eat properly
-set realistic expectations.
Work confict
In every workplace, you will experience conflict. how conflict is resolved, and how you learn from it, is the ket to positive
constructive conflict:
- improved office communication between co-worker
-improved work flow
-improved team and individual performance
-resolution of conflict and any lingering resentment
Destructive conflic:
- increased personal an office stress and anxiety
- decreased work flow
-patient care suffers
-decreased communition
-lingering anger and resentment
Human Behavior and Cultural Diversity
Human behavior has an impact on effective communication. Understanding human behavior involves observing a collection of actions performed by human beings. For example, studying social attitudes and peer pressure helps people understand human behavior.
One aspect of human behavior is cultural diversity. It’s important to understand and appreciate cultural differences, including the following:
* Race
* Gender
* Cultural heritage
* Age
* Physical abilities
* Spiritual beliefs
Phone Skills
Much of the communication in a dental office occurs over the telephone. In addition, the phone can be considered the most important piece of equipment for public relations!
When answering office calls, the dental assistant might need to place a caller on hold. Always ask the caller if you can put them on hold, wait for. their response, and then place the call on hold. Be mindful of the time they are on hold. It should not be longer than 30 seconds.
At times, the dental assistant might need to screen the dentist’s calls. If the dentist is busy with a patient, it is difficult and inconsiderate for the dentist to leave the patient in the chair. As a result, you will need to use good judgment when screening calls. Emergencies, obviously, take precedence over procedures
. After-hour calls can be handled by an answering service. As soon as the office is open, the answering service calls should be retrieved
Phone tips
-simle
-never chew gum or eat or drink
-speck dirctly into the phone
-speck clearly and slowly
-identifiy the practice and yourself
-ask who is calling
-ask how you can help the caller
phone equirpment
A number of different phone systems and equipment are used in the dental office. As a dental assistant, you ‘ll need to know how effectively use office equipment, including the following:
- answering machine
-voice mail
-headsets
-pager
-facsimle fax machine
Written communication
-welcome to the practice
-acknowledgment of a referral
- completion of an extensive case
-congratulation
-recall counting care
-missing appointment
-proposed treatment
-collections
Bussiness letters
-heading: the letterhead
-opening: to whom the letter is being written, address date and solution
-body: the subject of correspondence
-closing: a few words saying goodbye to the reader.
Standerd business letter
Written communication can be delivered via email- -as a matter of fact, most written communication is delivered via email. Regardless of how it is delivered, it must always be professional. Be sure to check spelling and punctuation. Keep your message clear and concise. Email might not be secure, and HIPPA rules require that patient records be kept confidential. As a result, it is better to not send patient records or personal information via email. There are several different styles of business letters. Be sure to use the one preferred by your office.
Procedure manuals
Procedure manuals: communication the policies and procedure to staff
-office communication
-staff policies
-employment policies
-types of office records
-infection control policy
-clinical procedures
-professional organizartions
HIPAA compliance
Specific topics must be contained in the procedure manual such as the HIPPA Privacy Compliance List. The HIPPA Privacy Compliance List spells out specific procedures and provides you with valuable information:
* Know the law. Become familiar with HIPPA regulations. Know the requirements of your state privacy laws.
- Adopt or develop the required forms to put into action the privacy policies and procedures.
- Train the dental staff on the privacy policies and procedures, and designate a privacy officer and a contact person to receive complaints. Make sure to document the training.
- Notify patients of the new policies by posting and distributing a Notice of Privacy Practice. In addition, obtain written permission by the patient’s Acknowledgment of Receipt of Notice of Privacy Practice, which acknowledges the receipt of, or good faith effort to obtain receipt of, Notice of Privacy Practices.
- Make sure policies and procedures are fully implemented and up to date. If changes need to be made, make sure the modifications are documented.
Computer application
In almost every aspect of day to day life the use of computers is replacing what once manual tasks. This is also in the dnetal
office
Computer application in the dental office included:
-Appointment scheduling
-maintenance of records
-work processing
-bookkeeping
-database mangment
-patient legers
Ptient records
maintaining good records on each of your patient is anther important component of effective business systems in the dental practice.
Patient record-keeping include keeping track of both a patient’s dental records and a patient’s financial records. It also includes various other elements such as following:
- patient registration
-medical and dental history forms
-examination findings
-diagnosis and treatment plans
-a record of all treatment provided
-radiographs.
patient record guidelines
-use back ink
-write legibly
-date every entry and use the MM/DD/YYYY
- sign all entries
-when a mistake is made, don’t use correction fluid. cross out the entry and make a notation per office policy
- be factual and objective
-keep information confidential
-never alter a patient record.
pateint fananial records
The patient ledger includes all of the patient’s financial information such as the following:
-date
-name
-description of service
-charges
-payment
-balance.
Filling systems
There are guidelines to follow for efficient filling:
-keep the filing system simple
-label folder clearly
-leave adequate or drawers
-label shelves or drawers
-use out-guides to serve as indicators of where folder have need removed from the file
-presort folder prior to filling.
Business File Types
Business filing systems need to accommodate two types of files.
Active Files: Files of patients who have been seen within the past two to three years. These file are maintained in an easily accessible area.
Inactive Files: Patient files that are not currently in use. These files are maintained in less convenient area, but are still accessible if needed.
Confidentail File Protection
All records are confidential and should be protected
Protecting Computerized Files: Back up all files each business day. Always keep two sets of backup files: one set in the office and a second set outside of the office
Protecting Paper Files: Keep records in fire-resistant file cabinets that are properly closed wach business day
Types of Filling Systems
Three basic filing systems are used in dental practices: alphabetic (alpha), numeric, and color-coded.
Alphabetic (Alpha):
-It is the easiest and most commonly used system
-Items are filed in alphabetical order in accordance with the basic rules of indexing
Numeric:
-A number is assigned for each chart or document
-Items are filed in strict numerical order
-This system i commonly used in large grop practices
- This system requires that a cross-reference file be maintained
Color-Coded:This system uses adhesive tabs that combine colors and letters to indicate the first two letters of the patient’s last name
Scheduling Appointments
Another aspect that can lead to a business system that operates smoothly is well-orgainzed appointment scheduling. The office manager or business assistant is often responsible for this function. Scheduling appointments effeciently can result in maximized productivity within an office.
Benefits of Effcient Scheduling:
- Patients are seen on time
- The patient load is well balanced
- The dentist and staff are able to make good use of their time
- The stress level is decreased
- Production goals are reached
- Patients are happy
Appointment Books and entries
The appointment book can be maintained and tracked manually or a computer. An appointment entry must certain information.
Elements of an appointment entry:
-Patimet’s namr
-the patient business and home telephobe #
-An abbreviation of the treatment to br provided
- The length of appintment
-special notation “new patient, Requires premedication, and so forth?
Elements of manual appointment book:
-Printed dates
-columns ( with number columns determined by the needs of the practice)
-units of time (in intervals of 10,15,30 minutes.
Schedulling elements
Before scheduling patient, certain information needs to be outlined (or blocked off) in the appointment book
AN appointment book contains four bascic elements
-Office hours: refers to hours the dnetist see patient
-Buffer timeL times for delays and emergencies or unforeseen events
- Dentist or staff meeting: allow time for formal communication with office personnel.
-Holidays: don’t forget holidays and vaction days.
Rules for schedulling
action to complete when schedulling appointments
- ALlow time for tratment area cleanup
-educate your patient about treatment and reinforcce treament times
consider special csituations
action to avoid when schedulling appointments
- do not schedule too many difficult procdures close together
-do not allow patient to see the appointment book. The appointment book should be considered price information
Confirning appointments
some dental procedures are proformed over several visits. In these cases, it’s necessary to schedule apponintment for a coplete.
Considerming appointments in advance can help prevent cancllations and forgotten appointments. If possible, all appointments should be confimed by telephone the day before the appointment. Confirmation in advance enable the dentist and staff to use tehir time most effectively.
*Guidelines for scheduling a series a appointments.
-Total number of appointments necessary to complete the procedure
- The amount of time required for each appointment
- The amount of laboratory time required between appointments.
*Flexible schedule practices:
-late patients
-canceled appointments
-short-notice appointments
Special patient schedlling
*New patient:
-schedule as soon as possible after they call
-work out a list of average times required for certain types of oral hygiene visits
*children:
-young children should be scheduled in the morning
-consider scheduling during school breaks
*emergency patients:
-schedule as quickly as possible using the buffer time.
Preventive care schedualing
regularly scheduled preventive care (also known as a recall system) is important for patient’s dental heath. perceptive care recall system are typically established as part of the business system so patient are scheduled for regular appointments.
-Continuing appointment system: patient is given a specific appointment time and date for the next visit.
-Written recall notification: recall card or postcard is mailed to schedule and appointment for continuing care.
-Recall by telephone: maintains a list of names and telephone # and uses available time to call each patient to schedule a recall appointment.
Recording supplies
Recording supplies is part of inventory management. It requires considering the two important factors down.
- Recorder point:
-Rate of use of the product: how much of the product is used on daily, weekly, monthly.
-Lead time what is the estimated to receive the procduct,t aking into account potential delays in ordering or shipping?
*reorder quantity:
-rate of us: how often is the product used?
-shelf life: when is the exporation data?
-storage problem: do you have enough storge space?
-purchase rate is it a good buy?
-investment: do you have the cash flow to ake the purchase?
Good inventory managment
An inventory management should be simple readily workable, and kept up to data, before ordering suppliwa you must obtain certain information
-full brand name of the product
-descriptive information
-purchase source
-necessary catalog numbers
-quantity purchase rates and reorder quantity.
