RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How to Not Confuse Students with Actual Employees on Orlando Medical News

RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How to Not Confuse Students with Actual Employees

By: MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES

Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:10 pm

RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How to Not Confuse Students with Actual Employees | RX for the Bottom Line, Simple Solution Billing, Auriana Reyes, Minerva DeJesus

Most medical offices enjoy having students come to learn how their office operates during an internship. It's helpful to have that extra body to confirm appointments, stock the rooms, assist in procedures, do the filing, etc. It can be a big help to have a student available when an employee calls in sick or needs to take an extended leave of absence because you are not as short staffed as you normally would be with one person out. Some students are fast learners and eager to be part of the activity going on at the facility. A caring student understands that any internship is a potential position if they follow work instructions and have a pleasant attitude. After all, some physicians have one employee they cannot live without, and that star employee was once a student. We all have to start somewhere.

During these difficult economic times, an office may consider budget cuts, including cutting staff positions and hours. Because a student requires a specific number of hours to graduate, it can be ideal to have a student working in the office because it helps decrease overhead expenses. Because you typically cannot financially compensate student interns, you can reduce staff expenses and save money. It may sound good, but this way of running a business can actually decrease your bottom line and cost you more than you ever imagined.

The following situations exemplify ways you may hurt your wallet and reputation:

If you allow a student to verify insurance without the proper training, you will lose money when it comes to acquiring the correct information regarding insurance deductibles, which are difficult to collect once the patient has been seen by the physician. Once the service has been provided and the patient gets treated, it won't be easy getting them to pay the bill.
If you allow a student to check in patients and they do not collect the proper co-pay, deductible, or self-pay rate, you will decrease your bottom line.
If you allow the student to make an appointment without the proper training and they set the appointment incorrectly, it can cost you a patient and possible referrals. For example, you have two patients that need a colposcopy; the student schedules them 10 minutes apart. Because the instrument for the colposcopy needs an hour to sterilize in between patients, this scenario can present a serious problem and significantly decrease your customer service. A patient, who took time off of work, has to now sit in a waiting room for an unnecessary extended period of time.
If you allow a student to write up lab work, but it is written on the wrong form, it will be an issue when the patient goes to the facility that does not accept her insurance. That patient only followed paperwork instructions. Now she's in the wrong place and needs a new order for the same test. The end result: an upset patient with wasted time she can't ever get back, resulting in more time away from work and possible issues with her own employer.

The examples are endless. We have come across offices that have lost up to $2,500 in deductibles in one month because students incorrectly verified insurance and incorrectly checked in patients. One student set an appointment for a patient needing Gardasil without confirming whether the office had the vaccine available. The patient arrived; the vaccine was not at the office. She took time off work and was extremely upset that it was all for nothing. That patient found another physician. A different student made an appointment for a procedure on a day that a specific procedure was not offered. These mistakes not only cost you money, but ruin your reputation. People talk and post complaints on the Internet. It's not easy to come back from a bad reputation in the community.

Even though it's wonderful to provide a place for students to learn about the medical field and how a great facility operates, it's important to remember they are students and are there only to learn, not help run your practice. Do not confuse students for actual staff! It's not fair to give them so much responsibility because they are learning. On the other hand, it's not fair to your patients to deal with so many errors while you're trying to save money and keep from paying wages. Oftentimes, cutting corners to save a buck will cost you. Patients will only take so much aggravation before looking for another office with competent staff. Similar to children being a reflection of their parents, your staff is a reflection of you and how you take care of your patients. Confusing students for staff is not a healthy prescription for your bottom line.

Minerva DeJesus and Audi Reyes are founders of Simple Solution Billing in Maitland, Fla.