Managed Care Organizations Usually Require A Referral To A Specialist

Question: Answering services can be used for which of the following?

Answer: Cover the telephone if all staff members need to be away at the same time,Buffer and screen after-hours calls

Question: A pleasing telephone voice is developed by using

Answer: clarity.

Question: Complaints about fees must always be directed to the office manager.

Answer: False -The medical office assistant can handle most calls about billing matters.

Question: How long are records of telephone messages retained?

Answer: The same period that the statute of limitations runs for medical professional liability cases

Question: If a caller refuses to identify himself or herself, the medical office assistant can put the call through to the physician right then.

Answer: False -The caller should not be put through if he or she refuses to give a name; however, the medical assistant can offer to schedule an appointment so that the caller can speak privately with the physician.

Question: If English is not the caller's primary language, the medical office assistant must use listening skills to ensure understanding.

Answer: True -If English is not the caller's primary language, the medical assistant must use listening skills to ensure understanding.

Question: If your office is on the West Coast, what time is the latest time to call the East Coast?

Answer: 2 PM -East Coast time is 3 hours later than West Coast time.

Question: Managed care organizations usually require a referral to a specialist.

Answer: True -Some managed care organizations require a physician referral before a patient may see a specialist.

Question: Patients should always be given an exact time that the physician will return a call.

Answer: False -The physician cannot be held to a specific time to return a call, because emergencies or lengthy appointments make this practice nearly impossible.

Question: Placing and receiving personal calls should be avoided during business hours.

Answer: True -Personal calls should always be made outside of business hours.

Question: The guidelines for medical confidentiality apply equally to telephone conversations; therefore take care that no one overhears sensitive information.

Answer: True -The guidelines for medical confidentiality apply equally to telephone conversations; therefore take care that no one overhears sensitive information.

Question: The medical office assistant can refer patients to an Internet map if they call for directions to the physician's office.

Answer: False -The medical office assistant must always provide accurate directions if the patient asks; it is helpful to have written directions handy that originate from different landmarks in the area.

Question: The medical assistant should always ask permission before placing a caller on hold.

Answer: True -It is good form to ask permission before placing a caller on hold.

Question: The medical office assistant should never give patients an estimate of what the cost of their visit will be, even on the initial visit.

Answer: False -Patients should be given a good estimate of what they should expect to pay, especially on the first visit.

Question: Transferring a call to a staff member without announcing the caller's name is considered unprofessional.

Answer: True -The professional medical assistant always announces the caller's name when transferring a call so that the receiving staff member can pull a record, ledger card, or other information that might be related to that particular patient.

Question: When answering a telephone for a healthcare practice, which of the following practices helps create a positive impression on the caller?

Answer: Smile

Question: When answering incoming calls, what is the first thing the caller should hear?

Answer: The name of the facility

Question: When a patient calls with a complaint

Answer: use an approach similar to that for angry callers, find the source of the problem,present options of solutions to the patient.

Question: When placing callers on hold, how often should you check back to make sure the caller still wants to remain on hold?

Answer: No longer than 1 minute

Question: When using speakerphone, which of the following should occur to comply with HIPAA?

Answer: Should not be used in areas where conversation can be overheard

Question: Which of the following are common sources of incoming calls to the physician's office?

Answer: Other physicians,New patients ,Laboratories

Question: Which of the following best describes the primary goal of "screening" telephone calls?

Answer: Selecting which calls should be forwarded to which staff members through an understanding of the purpose of the call

Question: Which of the following calls is considered urgent, but not an emergency?

Answer: Animal bite

Question: Which of the following greetings is recommended as appropriate for handling incoming calls in an extremely busy medical office?

Answer: "Dr. Bewell's office. Ms. Blakely speaking."

Question: Which of the following is not correct with regard to ending a call?

Answer: Hanging up before the caller

Question: Which of the following is not required when a telephone message is taken?

Answer: The caller's account number

Question: All patients want to be kept informed about how long they should expect to wait to see the provider. Any delay longer than ________ minutes should be explained.

Answer: 10 to 15

Question: An effective way to deal with patients who are always late for appointments is to

Answer: give them the last appointment of the day.

Question: An obstetrician who devotes two afternoons a week to seeing pregnant patients is using an appointment scheduling method called

Answer: grouping procedures.

Question: For legal purposes, what needs to occur when a patient fails to keep an appointment?

Answer: Place documentation in the patient health record and appointment schedule

Question: For security reasons, stating that the doctor is unavailable is best used in which of the following situations?

Answer: When provider is out of town

Question: If a patient has been waiting longer than ________ minutes past his or her appointment time, the medical assistant should offer to reschedule the appointment.

Answer: 15

Question: Open office hours do not work well for most practices.

Answer: True -Most practices prefer scheduled appointments so that the workday can be planned to the best extent possible and the staff can be prepared to meet the patients' needs.

Question: Placing the paperwork that new patients must fill out on the physician's Web site saves time during the new patient's first appointment.

Answer: True -Paperwork can take 30 minutes to complete, so when it is done in advance, the patient usually can see the physician more quickly and leave the office sooner.

Question: Scheduling systems should be individualized to each specific practice.

Answer: True -No two offices operate exactly alike, so scheduling must be planned to make the best use of the physician's and staff members' time.

Question: The appointment setting method by which a patient logs on to the Internet and views a facility's schedule to set his or her own appointment is called

Answer: self-scheduling.

Question: The patient's name should be used

Answer: on greeting him or her at arrival,when he or she leaves the office,during the examination.

Question: The principal advantage of using the wave method when designing the scheduling process is that it

Answer: allows flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable.

Question: The way to organize appointment scheduling so that it best supports the success of the practice is to

Answer: consider the preferences of the physician.

Question: Wave scheduling may involve several patients arriving at the same time.

Answer: True -Several patients may arrive at the same time when the office uses wave scheduling.

Question: When an appointment is rescheduled, the first appointment date and time must be removed.

Answer: True -The medical office assistant must make sure the first appointment is removed from the scheduling system before rescheduling the appointment.

Question: When a requested appointment time is not available, the medical assistant should

Answer: explain why the time is not available and offer a substitute date and time.

Question: When informing patients that you must postpone their appointments because of the absence of the physician, it is good practice to

Answer: give them the name of one or more alternative physicians.

Question: When patients need a series of appointments, it is best to

Answer: try to set the appointments for the same day of the week at the same time.

Question: When rescheduling an appointment, which of the following needs to occur?

Answer: Set the new appointment time ,Remove the first appointment day and time

Question: Which of the following scheduling systems reduces the number of calls to the office and is available to the patient 24 hours a day?

Answer: Self-scheduling

Question: Which type of scheduling is an attempt to create short-term flexibility within each hour?

Answer: Wave scheduling

Question: Which type of scheduling system is often used in an urgent care setting?

Answer: Open office hours

Question: Which types of outpatient procedures might be scheduled by the physician's office?

Answer: MRIs , CT scans ,Blood work

Question: Why is it necessary to include a note in the patient's chart when the person does not show up for a scheduled appointment?

Answer: To be prepared for future legal consequences regarding the patient's care