Medical Office Communication Flashcards
Verbal communication
- for communication to take place, must be a message, sender of message, receiver of message.
- must be effective and efficient
- verbal communication affected by emotion and attitude of those involved, objectives, facial expression, gesture, voice tone, posture, sense of touch
- sender and receiver influenced by moral code, observation of one another
5 C of communication
- clear
- cohesive
- complete
- concise
- courteous
Courtesy
- use polite behavior
- treat caller with respect and tact
- remain calm at all times
- answering incoming call by identify office reached, follow by office telephone greeting policy
- pick up ringing phone on 1st ring, definitely by 3rd ring
Inflection
Change one pitch while speaking, so not speak in monotone
Pronunciation
- say words correctly, to avoid misunderstanding
- avoid use of slang word, incorrect word contractions, word unfamiliar to receiver of message
Speed
Speak at normal rate, not too slow or fast
Tone
- control overall sound quality of voice to express feeling: confidence, authority, compassion, concern
- use a pitch, timbre of voice should be easy to listen to
Volume
Keep voice at normal level, so receiver does not strain to hear, does not feel shouted at
Children
- speak eye-to-eye
- always speak calm, gently, use short simple sentence that are age appropriate
- always state truth
- encourage questions
- allow privacy from adults during assessment if desired
Geriatric patients
- ensure patient comfort, privacy, safety in exam room
- face patient when speaking
- speak clearly, slowly. Do not shout
Hearing impaired
- communicate in quiet environment
- speak clear, slow. Do not shout
- explain procedure carefully
- face patient when speaking
- use pen, paper for you and patient to assist
Non-English speaking patient or with limited use of language
- provide interpreter, if has no friend or family to help
- face patient
- speak clear using short, simple sentence
- use visual aids
Visually impaired patient
- announce your presence
- offer your arm to guide them through office
- explain all procedure thoroughly
- describe surrounding
- if necessary leave patient alone for short amount of time
- face patient
Closed end question
Question requires simple yes or no, or number response
Concise
Express message clearly while using few words as possible
Confidentiality
Keep information private during conversation or telephone call by being careful patient name, symptom, other information received is not overheard by those do not need to know
Diction
Using correct word pronounced carefully, be clear and effective
Effective use of silence
Give some time to think before responding
-patient may use time to add helpful new information
Feedback
Response, either verbal or nonverbal to a message
Jargon
Terminology commonly use by those in given specialty field
Open-ended question
Require more than yes or no response
Paralanguage
- Way a message is stated instead of words in message
- refer to pitch, inflection, volume, speed of word spoken
Paraphrasing or restating
Tell messenger what you heard, in your own words
Reflecting
Repeat what is heard from the sender by using open-ended statements that person must complete in response
Tactfulness
Choose word carefully, so not to offend or upset someone receive information from you
Professionalism behavior
- produce good work ethic, demonstrates traits need to perform well in profession
- must show evidence of businesslike manner, appropriate appearance, good hygiene
- standard of professionalism set by American Medical Technologist and American Association of Medical Assistant
Coordination
Ability to plan and organize task to be accomplished by prioritizing within time frame
Critical thinking
Ability to evaluate situation, take action based on conclusion
Determination
Ability to communicate tactfully in professional and courteous manner
Discretion
Avoidance of commenting negatively about another medical office professional when speaking to patients
-also includes not giving advice to patient unless specifically directed by healthcare provider
Integrity
Quality of being trustworthy, honest with physician, employees, patient
-including following: treat each patient with dignity and kindness, work within law and in ethical manner, complete all task before leaving at the end of the day, admitting your mistake, ensure high quality care, lower chance for litigation
self-confidence
Belief in oneself and one’s ability. Demonstrated by taking initiative when working as a team member, is seen by level of comfort patient and physician have in medical employee
Understanding
Retention of knowledge, correct use of information. Expanding knowledge base through continued education and comprehension increase understanding
Written communication
- any form of written communication to patient, coworkers, physician, all others speak to receiver about professionalism of entire medical facility
- receiver judges by sender choice of words, conciseness, grammar, spelling whether from well-organized, competent facility or not
Telephone message essentials
- name of person whom the call was intended
- date, time of call
- name of individual calling
- caller phone number, work phone number, home phone number, hours in which to use each number. Name and phone number of pharmacy
- detailed reason for call
- action that is required
- initial of person taking message
Business letter essentials
- most letters should be less than 1 page in length
- should be “you” oriented
- should be carefully organized
- draft of letter should be written first, allows opportunity to reorganize, make correction before finalization
Bond paper
Felt side, wire side
-watermark felt side is seen correctly when held to light
—impression or design signifying high-quality paper
-25% or higher in cotton fiber content
Weight of paper
- 20 to 24 lbs
- 500 sheet per ream
Size paper
- Standard: 8.5 x 11 inches (general business / professional correspondence)
- monarch: 7.25 x 10.5 inches (executive, office memo)
- baronial: 5.5 x 8.5 inches (used for very short letter or memo)
Envolope
- matching bond and color of letterhead paper
- preprinted with office name, address in upper left corner
- commonly with transparent address window used to view recipients mailing information printed on invoice and statement
- No 10: for standard paper, most common
- No 6 3/4: for baronial paper
Business letter heading
Letterhead, dateline
Business letter opening
Inside address, salutation, attention line required
Business letter body
Subject line if necessary, message
Business letter closing
Complimentary closing, typed signature, reference initial, special notation
Format
-letter should be single spaced
Dateline
on line 15 if no letterhead, 2-3 lines below letterhead. Full name on month, day, full year
Inside address
on 4th line below dateline
Salutation
on 2nd line below inside address. Colon follow salutation
Subject line
on 2nd line below inside address. Begin at left margin, indented 5 space, centered
Body of letter
begin typing on 2nd line below salutation or subject line
complimentary closing
- typed on 2nd line below last line of letter body
- formal style: respectfully yours, respectfully
- general style: very truly yours, truly yours, sincerely, sincerely yours
- informal style: regards, best wishes (when using first name)
Keyed signature
Typed on 4th line below complimentary closing
Reference initials
- Typed at left margin, on 2nd line below keyed signature
- slash or colon used to separate composer from typist
- use upper case for composer, lower case for typist
Enclosure notation
If needed, type directly below previous typed line
Copy notation
If needed, type directly below previous typed line
Postscripts
If needed, type on 2nd line below previously typed line
Continuation page
- begins 1 inc from top of page
- required heading information for 1st typed line: name of addressee, page number, date
- heading is used in event that pages of document becomes separated
- body of letter begins on 3rd line below heading
Full block
All typed lines begin left margin. Most efficient style, but less attractive on page
Modified block
All typed lines begin in left margin, but date line/complimentary closing are centered on page
Indented modified block
Each new paragraph begin with an indented line (5 spaces) by using tab key
Simplified
All typed lines begin at left margin. Salutation, complementary closing omitted. Subject line in capital letters on 3rd line below inside address
Memoranda
Inter office correspondence
- begin typing 2 inches from top of page
- heading include following: date, to, from, subject
Editing
By checking for clarity, flow of letter, factual accuracy, conciseness, correct letter style
Proofreading
Checking document for any error in grammar, spelling, format
Edit/proofreading
- Steps performed when 1st draft of letter complete
- good practice to read document from top to bottom for flow and clarity
- from bottom to top for spelling
- use following tools for editing and proofreading: dictionary, medical dictionary, thesaurus, physician desk reference, English grammar manual
- when complete, home someone proofread letter as well
Transmitted electronically from 1 computer user to 1 or more recipient
-must use same professional tone as business letter
-many formats and templates
-use variation of simplified letter style, without inside address or subject line
-if patient related, must remain confidential, printed copy in patient chart
-may be used to remind patient of scheduled appointments
-often use in place of interoffice memo
-do not need letterhead, inside address, dateline
-must use proper grammar and punctuation in body of letter, texting acronyms should never be used
-be sure to proofread and edit before sending
-business contact information should be added following body of letter
—business name, phone number, fax number, other contact information, signature block
Instant messaging
- type of online chatting
- real time transmission over internet
- sender set up specific list of contacts, include professional contacts outside medical office, patients
- often used to communicate with other personnel in office
- should be check Frequently throughout office hours for risk management
- risk management involve: identify, assess, control action to minimize, and prevent loss due to legal liability
Facsimile
Fax
-electronic scan copy of document is quickly transmitted from 1 location to another over telephone lines
-use only when necessary, can violate patient confidentiality is a high risk
-confirmation received when transmission is complete
-used designated telephone numbers
-use of cover sheet is required, must state following:
—confidential content, briefly
—name of person whom is directed
—number of page being transmitted, include cover sheet
—name and fax number of sender
-proper grammar and punctuation must be used
