I love it when a mistake happens or when something goes wrong.
It means I get the chance to look at what went wrong and more importantly WHY it went wrong.
That means I can stop the same mistake happening again and therefore I get better.
For example: I was sent a clinic list yesterday that was incomplete. the patients address was not correct. The insurance details were incomplete too.
It said (as an example): The Avenue, WV11 2BQ
It didn’t state the house number. Nor did it state the geographic area
The patient’s policy number was also missing. It just said AXA.
Bottom line: I can’t invoice it. My client can’t therefore get paid.
What and Not Who.
When I called the newly appointed medical secretary to point these errors out, she told me nobody had told her how important that data was.
So what did I expect to happen? I hadn’t taken the time to make sure she understood how important complete data is.
She thought instead it would be quicker just to get the basic details. On this point she is right.
She is in fact right enough to be dangerously wrong.
Quicker can take longer
Getting complete and correct patient details upfront takes a lot less time than having to ring the patient (twice as it turns out) and then emailing me with the correct information.
She had to perform the task THREE times as opposed to once when the patient presents at reception.
Thus she learned how to do the job better.
And I learned to make sure a medical secretary knows who important it is to get the right information.
Win – Win situation really.
And all because we made a mistake the first time.
pete@medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk