Some days the type of questions I hear determine if we continue in a relationship.
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| Compliments of Pixabay DanielHannah. What would you do? |
Working with the public can be a challenge, especially when awkward situations occur in our office, we must know the most suitable approach to handle these interactions. Dental school didn’t prepare me, in the least, for this kind of interaction and they probably don’t teach that now either. I learned more about how to handle difficult situations from my years leading up to college graduation. At 14 years old I worked for a tennis pro in a tennis club and then at age 16, at a department store and as an assistant for a dentist.
If you practice long enough, you will experience a trove of challenging situations and sharing these experiences with others may be helpful for them. Knowing what to say and how to deliver the message is important. It’s necessary to understand that there will be situations when you deliver a message that people won’t be happy to hear and they may retaliate against you because they are unhappy with the message. Fear of retribution shouldn’t be a motivator to do something you are not comfortable with or to do something that may be looked upon as unethical. How would this situation play itself out in your hands, at your office?
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| "I say go haunt another house" |
What would you do?
A middle-aged woman made an appointment for a consultation regarding a tooth problem. When presented to the office she was asked to complete the necessary medical and dental history forms including the Financial Policy and HIPAA forms. Willingly she offered all the necessary information and handed them over to the receptionist. The receptionist was in the process of confirming and entering her information into the computer when the patient appeared at the reception desk asking “If I decide after I see her, that I don’t particularly agree with her or like her personality, can I have my chart back? You know my paperwork, my chart?”. The question shocked the receptionist, which prompted her to ask the patient to repeat it. So, the patient repeated it. Of course, the receptionist was perplexed and wasn’t sure how to answer this.
I was in with a patient and the receptionist came to me and asked me what to say. She had to ask me twice because I couldn’t believe my ears especially because the patient was an attorney. The fact is, the patient offered her information freely to my office staff and under HIPAA guidelines I cannot release any of her information without her consent. At that time, the receptionist delivered my message to the patient which was that she would be given an original copy of her record but was advised that we will also maintain the originals regardless of whether she plans on staying, which she was not happy about. It was explained to her that the actual forms she completed are the property of the office and the information she provided was of her own free will. She attempted to reach through the desk divider to take her forms but couldn’t reach them. Ultimately, she opted not to stay and because she was making a scene at the reception area this meant I had to leave the patient I was with and attend to the receptionist and assure that she wasn’t being harassed. As it turned out, the patient was acting out at the reception desk. I explained my position to her, that we needed to maintain medical records as federal and state laws mandate this and that I would expect her to be aware of this as an attorney. After taking her copies, the last thing she said was that she would be reporting me to the state dental society for my policy. As if to threaten me because she was dissatisfied.
There may be other dentists that would have obliged her and given her the forms to take to appease her and avoid an unhappy patient. I maintain that this is the wrong decision to make and that this patient would ultimately show her true colors at some point and become a problem for you. I say “Go haunt another house”.
Remember, never lose sight of maintaining order and following protocol. There will be people asking you to bend the rules. Bending the rules is the same as willfully neglecting to do the right thing. That can have a disastrous outcome and get you in trouble. Imagine if I would have agreed to those stipulations? If at any point during her treatment she became “unhappy” or triggered by anything, she would be asking to keep her forms and possibly requesting a refund or force legal action. Individuals requesting this and demand special consideration will most likely not stop after a simple request. This person does not understand and may not care to understand the rules. Therefore, it’s important to maintain your standards regardless of the pressures put on you by others or by yourself. Remaining steadfast in your principles is essential and will show the patient that you are not willing to lower your standards because someone has requested or threatened you to. Don’t second guess these decisions, they are the reason rules are created. It goes back to my other post that 10% of the people will take up 90% of your time. Knowing how to deal with those people will make you and your staff more efficient at messaging.
The Girldoc😉
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