What to do when your front desk quits

Ever since COVID, clinics have struggled with high staff turnover. Your front desk/your office manager plays a crucial piece in your office running smoothly. They do so much: check patients in, make sure your schedule is full, verify patient benefits and so much more.

So what do you do when they quit or are on leave for an extended period of time?

1) Hire a replacement

It’s challenging when the person who did all the administrative work and was the face of your office when patients walked in leaves. The best and easiest way to hire her/his replacement is to hire someone who you like, is eager to learn and who is organized. If you outsource verification of benefits (which we will cover in #2 below) then it opens up your pool of potential candidates significantly. Finding someone who is familiar with verification of benefits makes it much harder for you to hire someone quickly. 

One additional thing you should always do is have your front desk/office manager document the process they use for everything. Having SOPs consistently updated is super important so that in case they leave, quit or you have to let them go, you have what is needed to train the next person.

2) Outsource verification of benefits

Verifying patient benefits takes a particular skillset that generally requires years and years of experience dealing with payers. Verifying patient benefits, while sometimes given to the front desk, should be done by someone dedicated to calling payers and interpreting benefits. It is very important to invest in having a good verification of benefits process as even minor errors or misinterpretations can lead to thousands of dollars in losses.

3) Use technology

There are plenty of software tools you can use to automate some parts of the front desk. There are text message solutions and automated calls that you can set up in order to remind patients of their visit and to have them confirm that they are going to show up. There’s also several digital scheduling software solutions that can help you streamline appointment scheduling for those patients who prefer to book an appointment online instead of having to call.

If you are interested in learning more about how One Body can help you and your clinic with your verification of benefits, please fill out the contact form below or email hello@onebodywellness.com for more information.