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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Pearson's Comprehensive
Medical Assisting Administrative and Clinical Competencies
Second Edition
CHAPTER CHAPTER 20
Medical Office
Management Lesson 2:
Leadership and Team Accountability
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Lesson Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to …
• Define and spell the terms to learn for this chapter.
• Describe time management principles and how a TO DO list would enhance office organization.
• Differentiate between the personnel policy manual and the office policies and procedures manual.
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Lesson Objectives
• Describe ten responsibilities in assisting the physician to prepare for a medical meeting.
• Discuss how to assist the physician when preparing to make a presentation at a medical meeting.
• List five items that belong in a patient information booklet.
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Attributes of a Good Leader
• Ability to make appropriate calls of judgment
• Willingness to learn new ideas
• Staying calm during stressful situations
• Always maintaining a professional attitude
• Demonstrating good listening skills
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Authoritarian Leaders
• Very direct
• Make most decisions on their own without the input of others
• Probably not team players as much as solid leaders
• Want respect and obedience from their staff members
• Use fear to achieve staff obedience
• Motivated by power and absolute authority
• Work best in times of great stress and crisis situations
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Democratic Leaders
• Concentrate more on the relations between staff members and emphasize teamwork within the office
• Motivated from within to provide a comfortable work environment for all
• Offer open communication
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Democratic Leaders
• More receptive to new ideas from staff members, creating an atmosphere of cooperation among the staff and instituting greater participation in the decision-making process
• Style often leads to a contented staff
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Permissive Leaders
• Tend to be very open with the staff
• Not strict with rules and policies
• Self-motivated
• Lead to disorganization and even hazardous conditions due to a lack of an ordered environment
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Bureaucratic Leaders
• Very strong at enforcing rules
• Motivated from external means
• Rely on established management methods for office matters
• Rigid and set in their ways
• Have a level of insecurity because they do not trust themselves in making decisions that will affect the office
• Very distant and formal
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Types of Power
• Power of rewards
– Incorporates rewards or some type of enticement in exchange for better job performance and teamwork
– One downfall is that employees can become reliant upon rewards
• Legitimate power
– Given to people based upon their titles
– Misuse leads to fear of the person with the title or even the title itself
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Types of Power
• Expert power
– Given to those who have a great deal of knowledge
– When misused there is a perceived level of manipulation and intrusion among those affected
• Referent power
– Given out of high regard and respect
– Same effect with misuse as expert power
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Types of Power
• Informative power
– Power wielded by those with information that others want or need
– Misuse of this power may result in avoidance, a sense of unfairness, and a bit of hostility
• Connective power
– The idea that if you know the right people you can get what you need
– Same effect with misuse as expert power
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Factors that Help to Create a Successful Office Team
• Size – The smaller a team,
the better it will work together
• Team personalities – It is inadvisable to put
together a team made of the same personalities and similar mindsets
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Factors that Help to Create a Successful Office Team
• Responsible team members
–All members of the team must be accountable for their actions
• Unified team approach
–Team members must come together to face the project with the same purpose and goals
Have you ever worked on a successful team?
If so, what do you think made the team successful?
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Ways to Maintain Team Cohesiveness
• Treating all members of a team equally
• Manager showing that he or she is an integral part of the team
• Adopting the attitude “I would not ask the employee to do anything I haven’t already done myself or would be willing to do”
• Developing several levels of leaders on the office team
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Characteristics of a Small Team
• Often will be very intimate
• Close bonds may form
• Because of the small group dynamics, they tend to be very unstable
• More relaxed atmosphere
• Similar to group size and structure, the smaller the office, the easier going it may be
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Characteristics of a Large Team
• More stable
• Loss of intimacy found in small groups
• More rigid structure
• More formal and systematic as a whole
• Small groups may develop within the large team, such as a group of receptionists or clinical medical assistants
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Ways to Create a Team Atmosphere
• Allow some staff members to be part of the hiring process when new team members are being selected
• Avoid filling an office with people who are of similar personality types and leadership styles
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Task-Oriented Roles that Team Members Can Assume
• Information seeker
• Information giver
• Coordinator
• Energizer
• Evaluator or critic
• Recorder
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Nurturing Roles that Team Members May Assume
• Encourager
• Harmonizer
• Compromiser
• Follower
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Holding Team Members Accountable
• The team must come together to locate and fix the problem
• The team should not attack or try to blame a problem on any one member
• The team must decide together how they lost track and how they can prevent a similar problem from reoccurring
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Ways to Help a Team Be Successful
• Ensure the correct personalities and talents have been brought together
• Encourage team members to concentrate on a single goal
• Have the team work with the same purpose in mind and approach a problem or task using similar means
• Monitor the progress of the team to ensure they are on the right track and working together
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Ways to Help a Team Be Successful
• Have members of the team switch roles when possible in order to experience the duties and responsibilities of the office as a whole
• Use team-building exercises to gain cohesiveness within the team
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Critical Thinking Question
1. What team building exercises can you think of that might be worthwhile for a team?
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Methods of Advertising Open Staff Positions for the Medical Office
• Newspapers
• Trade journals
• Professional organizations
• Internet
• Formal training programs
• Employment agencies
• Local training programs in colleges
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Methods for Obtaining the Job Application
• Send to the applicant by mail and have them bring it with them to the interview
• Provide the link for them to access the online version
• Have the applicant fill out the form at the time of the interview
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Benefits to Having the Application Completed at the Interview
• Ability to see how the applicant handles filling out forms under a time constraint
• Obtain a visual of the applicant’s handwriting
• Learn how adept the applicant is at completing a requested task
– Do they follow directions, take shortcuts, or do they complete every line?
– How does she/he handle on-the-spot tasks that may need to be resolved quickly and efficiently?
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Areas to Assess at the Time of the Interview
• Is the applicant dressed appropriately?
• Does he or she reflect a professional appearance?
• Is the resume neatly prepared?
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Contents of Questions Prohibited by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act
• Race
• Color
• Sex
• Religion
• National origin
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Information to Obtain About Applicants
• Past office experience
• Types of physicians the applicant has worked with before
• Test applicant’s ability to think on their feet
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Possible Office Requirements for an Applicant
• Post-offer drug screen
• Acceptable credit report
• Acceptable criminal background check
• Pre-employment physical (which may include tuberculosis (TB) testing and hepatitis B immunization)
• Body mechanics testing and training
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Purpose of Probationary Period
• Time frame allows the supervisor to observe the new employee at work and to determine if he or she is suited to the position
• During the probationary period an employee can be terminated without cause.
• After 90 days, the employer must show just cause, or reason, to dismiss an employee
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Contents of an Orientation Checklist
• Work hours and schedule
– Includes overtime and call-in procedures
• Office layout
– Includes the location of the restroom, break room, employee parking, and employee entrances)
• Dress code
• Smoking policy
• Lunch break time and location
• Job description
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Contents of an Orientation Checklist
• All employment records
– Including I-9s, emergency contact information, affidavit of citizenship, insurance enrollment, and so on
• OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standards and Universal Precautions
– Including request for a waiver form for hepatitis B vaccine.
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training
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Pearson's Comprehensive Medical Assisting: Administrative and Clinical Competencies, 2/e
Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Contents of an Orientation Checklist
• Fire safety
– Locations of fire extinguishers, exit procedures, stairwell locations
• Signature on confidentiality statement
• Policy and Procedure Manual
– Employee should read and sign a statement that the document has been read and understood
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Contents of an Orientation Checklist
• Physician’s work preference
– Explains the way the physician prefers to work; if a team approach is used, examples should be provided to help the MA understand his or her role
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Considerations for a Job Performance Evaluation
• Appraisal should be given in a nonjudgmental manner
• Appraisal should focus on the entire covered review period, not just recent events
• The manager should be open to understanding any problems the employee may be experiencing
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Considerations for a Job Performance Evaluation
• Discussion of the job description and required duties should allow the employee to voice any frustration
• The manager should reinforce what is expected of the staff member
• Teamwork should be emphasized
• The manager needs to look at the employee’s performance as a whole
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Considerations for a Job Performance Evaluation
• The employee's job description should be reexamined and the most important aspects of the position should be identified
• Look at whether the employee’s performance was outstanding, good, average, poor, or unacceptable
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Questions to Consider When Rating an Employee
• What factors determine outstanding performance?
• What determines good versus poor performance?
• How are the employee’s social interaction skills, many times referred to as their “soft skills”?
• How does the employee get along with the other members of the office team?
• How does he or she interact with the patients?
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Considerations for a Job Performance Evaluation
• Mention areas in which the employee may want to improve work performance and ways to help them achieve the suggested goals
• If possible, end the evaluation meeting on a good note
• In situations where employees are not performing up to the standard set for them, the performance evaluation may satisfy the legal requirements for documentation of rightful termination
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Considerations for a Job Performance Evaluation
• If giving an employee a poor evaluation, it is a good idea to warn the employee at the start of the meeting
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Types of Reviews
• Orientation or training
– Involves observing the new employee and every few days asking the employee how they think the training is going
• Routine performance review
– Normally performed at 90-day, six-month and yearly intervals.
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Types of Reviews
• Poor performance reviews
– Conducted when there have been obvious deficiencies in the performance of the employee
• Salary reviews
– A review of the employee’s salary when a shift in job responsibility occurs
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Actions that Require Discipline and Probation
• Intoxication
• Drug use
• Breach of patient or office confidentiality
• Sleeping on the job
• Frequent tardiness or absenteeism
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Critical Thinking Question
1. What should you do if you know that a coworker is breaching patient confidentiality?
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Possible Disciplinary Actions
• Providing a verbal and/or written warning
• Sending the employee home on suspension while the incident is investigated
• Placing the employee on probation and telling the employee that if the situation occurs again within a set period of time (i.e. 30 days or 3 months), the employee will be discharged
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Beaman • Fleming-McPhillips • Routh • Gohsman • Reagan
Possible Disciplinary Actions
Every incident should be documented with time, date, and an objective statement regarding what
happened.
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Considerations for Establishing a Time Management System
• Defining the office goals with the physician. For example:
– Collecting all payments at the time of delivery of services
– Reorganizing or computerizing billing
– Limiting the practice
– Writing a textbook
• Creating a priority list of the goals
• Placing the priority list onto a TO DO list
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Information Found in an Employee Handbook
• Employer-employee relationship
• Work environment and expectations of the particular medical facility
• General information about office policies
• OSHA guidelines and standard precautions
• Information related to benefits and time off
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The Office Policies and Procedures Manual
• Contains detailed descriptions of the standard operating procedure (SOP) and how to perform both administrative and clinical tasks
• Policy refers to:
– A plan of action, such as “It is office policy that all employees receive hepatitis B (HBV) vaccinations.”
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The Office Policies and Procedures Manual
• Procedure describes:
– The steps to be performed to carry out the policy
• The terms policy and procedure are used interchangeably in many offices
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Primary Functions of a Policies and Procedures Manual
• Lists the tasks to be performed within the office, including equipment needed in order to complete the procedure
• Standardizes the procedure for each task
• Describes job responsibilities and titles
This manual is an excellent reference tool for new employees since it provides guidelines for performing
specific tasks.
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Contents of a Patient Information Booklet
• Office hours
• Payment guidelines
• Appointment and cancellation policy
• Telephone answering service information
• Information about the physician(s)
• After-hours availability
• Directions to the facility
• Parking information
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Benefits of an Effective Patient Information Booklet
• Reduce the number of questions by telephone from patients
• Enhance the office’s image
• Reduce the number of patients who fail to remember instructions
• Used either for patients with special needs or to teach methods of disease prevention
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Steps to Developing a Patient Information Booklet
• Make the booklet as appealing as possible.
• Allow a white border around all the edges.
• Use large print for the elderly reader’s benefit.
• Make small enough that it will fit easily into a pocket or purse.
• Write the booklet with the reader in mind and at a reading level appropriate for your target audience.
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Steps to Developing a Patient Information Booklet
• Avoid the use of technical medical terms.
• Avoid long paragraphs of explanation. Keep the sentences short and concise and use as many bulleted points as possible.
• Provide a listing of the regular office hours.
• List any special services offered by the practice or clinic such as patient education classes or blood pressure testing programs.
• Explain the procedure for having a prescription refilled.
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Steps to Developing a Patient Information Booklet
• Explain the procedure for processing medical insurance forms.
• Include a general statement about payment of fees.
• Provide information about the physician and the staff, the name and telephone number of the office manager, the personnel responsible for insurance processing, and the patient educator.
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Steps to Developing a Patient Information Booklet
• State what procedure to follow in case of an emergency.
• Provide a 24-hour emergency telephone number.
• Include a telephone number at the end of the brochure in the event there are additional questions.
• End by thanking the patient for taking the time to read the literature.
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Questions?