1
What is the purpose of analyzing patient flow and the compiled data?
To estimate how many patients to schedule in a time frame
All of the above
To obtain a clear picture of patient flow
To determine whether office personnel are being used efficiently
All of the above
Which of the following best describes one of the primary sources for any provider?
Media advertising
Patient referrals
Physician referrals
Yellow pages
Physician referrals
When analysis of patient flow is reviewed, what does this help a practice determine?
Amount of time the provider sees patients per week
Realistic time frame for each appointment
Day of the week most patients come in
Number of times per year a patient visits the medical office
Realistic time frame for each appointment
Which of the following best describes a behavior indicating to the patient that their time is valued?
Acknowledge his presence when he arrives.
Demonstrate a cool, detached atmosphere.
Provide restful music in the waiting room.
Impress the patient with your business manner.
Allow only the allotted time for the visit.
Acknowledge his presence when he arrives.
Which of the following actions for appointment scheduling is a courtesy for the patient?
Which of the following is NOT a reason why the medical office should retain all records for legal purposes?
Identify how many no-shows a patient has
Keep track of how many patients are seen for a specific condition
Determine how many canceled appointments a patient has
Verify a patient has been seen
Keep track of how many patients are seen for a specific condition
Which of the following best describes one of the patients’ most frequently voiced frustrations with medical clinics?
Providers cancel appointments too frequently.
Patients have excessive waiting times.
Patients are too often not diagnosed correctly.
Medical assistants are often abrupt and discourteous.
Patients have excessive waiting times.
Which of the following best describes the key to having an effective scheduling system?
Give patients appointments on the dates and times they desire.
Meet only acute patient needs.
Tailor system to physician’s needs.
Customize system to the type of practice.
Provide effective monitoring of all appointments
Customize system to the type of practice.
Which of the following is NOT a requirement of screening?
Determine whether it is a life-threatening matter.
Obtain information to help determine urgency.
Send all patients to the emergency room.
Ask appropriate questions.
Send all patients to the emergency room.
Which of the following scheduling records should be kept for legal purposes?
Computerized schedules
Hard copy day sheets
Appointment books
All of the above
All of the above
Which of the following is an advantage of using scheduling software programs?
The staff can view multiple schedules at the same time.
All of the above
Software can search for appointments by patient name.
Software can select the next available appointment.
All of the above
Which of the following best describes the most widely used scheduling system in which each patient is assigned a specific time?
Stream
Modified wave
Double booking
Open hours
Clustering
Stream
Which of the following actions is most appropriate when checking in patients?
Retrieve the patient’s chart only when the patient arrives.
Discuss vital information with the patient in a private location.
Leave the patient in waiting room until the physician is ready.
Interview patients in the reception area only.
Discuss vital information with the patient in a private location.
Which of the following is the most appropriate action when a pharmaceutical representative walks in asking for an appointment?
Interrupt the provider and ask permission to work the person into the schedule.
Tell the person you will call when there is an available space.
Schedule an appointment for the same day.
Explain office policy and schedule an appointment for the next available space.
Explain office policy and schedule an appointment for the next available space.
Which of the following describes an action of the medical assistant that best facilitates service to the patient when scheduling a procedure?
Informs the patient that the facility will contact them.
Provides the patient with directions to the facility.
Gets workable dates and times and schedules the appointment for the patient.
Provides the patient with a phone number of the facility.
Gets workable dates and times and schedules the appointment for the patient.
Which of the following is an appropriate action when scheduling a patient in the office and the phone rings?
Ignore the call until the appointment is completed with the patient.
Let the answering service answer the call and follow up when finished with the current patient.
Leave the patient, turn your back, walk away for privacy, and answer the call.
Excuse yourself first and then ask the caller to hold for a moment.
Excuse yourself first and then ask the caller to hold for a moment.
Which of the following is the most appropriate action when there are delays in the physician’s schedule?
Which of the following is the most appropriate action when a patient telephones with symptoms of acute illness?
When screening phone calls, what question would NOT be considered appropriate to determine the urgency of the situation?
Is there any bleeding?
How far are you from the facility?
Are there chest pains?
Is the patient in immediate need of medical assistance?
How far are you from the facility?
Which of the following is NOT a variable involved in scheduling appointments?
Implementation of payment at time of visit
Implementation of cancellation and rescheduling policies
Use of reminder systems
Referral from another provider
Patient’s urgency of need
Implementation of payment at time of visit
What is the primary purpose of analyzing patient flow?
Which of the following is an action that would motivate a patient to not miss an appointment?
Give the patient an appointment card or notify the patient by telephone the day before.
Do not allow the patient many time choices.
Remind the patient at least twice of the next appointment.
Schedule the patient to fit into open office time periods.
Do not ask for payment when the patient is leaving.
Give the patient an appointment card or notify the patient by telephone the day before.
Which of the following best describes a typical office policy concerning no-shows?
Automatically send a warning letter to the patient that provider’s services may be terminated.
Automatically send a letter to the patient with instructions to transfer to a new provider.
Have the provider review the patient’s record after a certain number of incidences.
Call and inform the patient that the provider’s services are terminated and not to call for future appointments.
Have the provider review the patient’s record after a certain number of incidences.
When using a sign-in method for patients’ arriving for a office visit at the clinic, one method to ensure confidentiality is
mandate all patients to use this system for equality.
have patients list only their first names.
instruct patients to remove the top ticket portion on the form that has a number that can be used to identify them.
Instruct patients to list their full names and addresses.
instruct patients to remove the top ticket portion on the form that has a number that can be used to identify them.
Which of the following, regarding appointments, should always be documented in the patient’s medical record?
Patient arrival late for appointment
Time change of appointment
Cancellation or no-show of appointment
Patient inquiry of time of appointment
Cancellation or no-show of appointment