The Etiquette dilemmas will be a subject matter at a future All Staff meeting.  Right now I want to focus on the profit killing mistakes.

So what are the 10 profit killing mistakes you ask?   They are:  Failure to ask for contact information if an appointment is not made;  Failure to develop a rapport with the patient by not using his or her own name; Failure to manage the call; Failure to answer the questions professionally; Failure to really “ask” for the appointment; Failure to overcome objections; Failure to invite an “additional decision maker” aka 3^rd party to the appointment; Failure to follow up with current and potential patients; Failure to track advertising results and customer feedback; failure to set specific goals.

The first impression in any business establishment is the first contact made, be it a phone call or just walking in.  In the case of a medical clinic or audiology/speech practice the first impression would be the Front office Manager.  It’s the Front Office Manager that brings in the new patient.

The most important goal is making the appointment to get that new patient in the door.

The greatest percentage of failures are in the phone calls and how they are handled.  First and foremost try to answer the phone BEFORE it rings 3 times and goes to voice mail. Develop a rapport with the caller by asking his or her name and using it throughout the conversation.  Also at this time, you should be asking for contact information – phone number, address, etc.  By having this contact information you will be able to follow-up with the caller especially if the appointment is not made.   If you need to put the call on hold, ask permission of the caller and wait for them to answer.  Try to speak low and slow – speak too loudly and you would be hard to understand especially for someone who is hearing impaired.  Ask the patient if they want to make an appointment; don’t wait for the caller to make the decision.  Answer any questions professionally – it would be helpful if the Front Office Manager had the opportunity to have a hearing test, have impressions taken for ear molds, sit in on a hearing aid consult and/or fitting or any other diagnostic testing.  This would give the Front Office Manager the experience and some knowledge in helping to answer any questions or to let the patient know what to expect for a particular appointment.

Set specific goals.  This is probably most important, specifically in bringing in that new patient, making that appointment.  First, write the goals down as this will require you to think about the process.  Be supportive, be inspired.  Have a detailed action plan and have accountability.  S.M.A.R.T. goals – sound familiar?  Same plan we use for our bi-annual goal setting.  Specific, measureable, action oriented, realistic, time bound.  Set goals for the front desk using this plan.

Front Desk/Office Manager performance indicators are:  appointments booked; cash collected; average call time(should be approximately 2 min per call); occupancy rate(full schedule? holes?); appointment conversion (i.e. from clean/ck to audio – ask questions, what exactly does patient need to be seen for); No show rate; 3^rd party attendance rate; call source rate.  These are all things that the Front Office Manager should be tracking on a daily basis.

Do I see some future goal setting?  Good luck everyone.  Let’s get those appointments!

This past month hearing device manufacturer Oticon, Inc. released their newest hearing instrument: the “invisible” Intigaˡ. The custom-made product sits comfortably and invisibly deep in the ear with a secure fit that protects the instrument during physical activity and allows for easy use of phones and headsets.

“With the incredible advances in technology and design, patients can now have the discreet look they want and better hearing they need to meet the everyday demands of their active lifestyles,” says Dr. Terence Limb.

The super tiny, ultra sleek, high-performance Intigaˡ is designed to improve users’ ability to hear and understand conversation and other everyday sounds with less listening effort, even in difficult listening situations such as restaurants, conference rooms or sporting events. The instrument’s avanced features work in harmony with the brain to recognize speech cues and make it easier to separate conversation from background noise. Placement close to the eardrum enables the fully automatic hearing device to use the natural acoustics of the ear to deliver a pleasing, transparent sound quality.

In addition the manufacturer released a small, sleek and stylish behind the ear device that is practically invisible offering high performance sounds and full wireless capabilities enabling the hearing instrument to act as a wireless, hands-free headset for cell phones, MP3 player and other entertainment devices.

To maintain the highest standard of hearing products and healthcare services, Evergreen Speech & Hearing Clinic will be offering the new invisible Oticon Intiga. The clinic is one of the first hearing care professionals in the U.S. to release the state-of-the-art hearing instrument.

To learn more about the new devices, or to try them out, call our offices to schedule a complimentary consultation appointment.

Bellevue: 425-882-4347

Redmond: 425-882-4347

Kirkland: 425-899-5050

Email: info@everhear.com

PEACOCKS:  fun, creative, social, center of attention, don’t like waiting/don’t like negativity/don’t like when  people can’t make a decision.  Peacocks stick together.  They thrive on recognition; they respond quickly but they also understand that they might have to change their response later.

LIONS:  their presence intimidates people; they’re a master at time management and organization; self-directed, task focused, a leader; can’t stand emotion, laziness or people who are not focused at the task at hand.  Outspoken & articulate, they might be the ones leading the group discussion.

LAMBS:  need affirmation; very loyal, caring  and kind. They make contributions for the good of the group not for the credit or center of attention.  Lambs are not confrontational. Need to take time to ask what their opinion is.  Give them permission to share how they feel.  They may seem impractical but they are the ones that make you look at how your decisions impact people.

OWLS:  independent and autonomous; wise; greatest fear is  being wrong. They observe; when they do say something it means something.  They are corrective, factual, focused, risk avoiders, perfectionist. They don’t like public recognition, owls are not social, it’s not personal. Owls won’t say anything unless they have the right answer.  They will call peacocks out for making stuff up!

Just like our “True Colors” we each have our dominate color with a bit of other colors mixed in.  This is also true with our zoo animals.  We all relate to our one animal in particular but gravitate towards the others.. This is called, “The Zone of Normal.” Our ultimate goal would be to have a “bigger zone of normal” thus allowing for more effective communication.

Every person is unique each in their own way as are animals.  We’re all unique with varying  motivation.  Lions are motivated by results, owls by perfection, lambs by peace and harmony, peacocks by attention.  Each animal may be perceived by others in a way that is not intentional.  Lions can be perceived as bullies, owls as negaholics, peacocks as careless and lambs as indecisive.  When people are being difficult remember to assume positive intent – they are probably just trying to be helpful.

Are you ready to be an animal?  I urge everyone to  identify with your animal counterparts and those of your co-workers.  The ESHC zoo is now open!

Our brains are complex, with different areas and functions that can all be enhanced through mental exercise. We’ve all heard the term “use it or loose it,” and for the brain this is true in many respects. When you “work out” your brain, there are both short-term and long-term benefits. In the short-term, you will see an improvement in concentration and memory, along with sustained mental clarity under stressful situations. Also, studies of long-term benefits have shown that exercising your brain can create reserves that help protect individuals against potential problems associated with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

Additionally, you can help improve your listening skills through auditory training. At ESHC, we encourage all our hearing patients to enhance their listening skills through LACE, an at-home “workout” for your ears. The benefits seen by those who have completed the program are astonishing.

Other tips for enhancing brain power in the New Year include:

For stress management:

Practice 5-minute visualization sessions, combining deep and regular breathings with visualizations of beautiful landscapes and/or remembering times in our past when we have been successful at a tough task.

For short-term memory:

Try subtracting a series of numbers, such as 7 from 200 (200 193 186 179…), or an exponential series (2 4 8 16 32 64…). Another good practice is to try and remember friends’ telephone numbers. The goal is not to be a math genius, but just simply to train and improve our short-term memory.

For general practice:

Try something different every day, no matter how little: Take a different route to work; talk to a different colleague; ask an unexpected question. Approach every day as a living experiment and a learning opportunity.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and brain empowered 2012!

Lisa: I love our new Redmond office, how everything is so organized and we have more space, I love the décor and the “feel” of the office. I love seeing all the kids coming in to their appointments and having so much fun in the kids cave! I love my co-workers, always so ready to help out and be there for each other, go team Purple! I love the whole concept behind ESHC, how caring the company is to patients and staff and how approachable Ruth is. Basically I love my job, I love being able to help patients and the service we provide is top notch!

Laura: The thing I love most about my job is when a patient is truely happy with their hearing instruments, and they thank you for being a part of this great change in their life.  It’s the patient who tells you that they are now able to go out to a restaurant again with their family and even the new ability to hear the clanging of their dog’s collar as it runs around. These patients have had such a positive life change and it is so great to hear about it and know that you had something to do with it.

Jenn: I absolutely love the team approach that the clinic takes to patient care – the front office works works together with the SLPs and AuDs/assistants, the SLPs and AuDs/assistants work together, and each department works together to support the patient during their time with us.  I think that this team approach makes a really positive experience for our patients and staff and helps to ensure quality care!

Tyla: I love being able to help patients….IN OUR BEAUTIFUL NEW OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ICD-10-CM/PCS (Clinical modification/procedure coding system) consists of two parts:  ICD-10-CM is for diagnosis coding; ICD-10-PCS is for inpatient procedure coding.  ICD-10-PCS would not relate to ESHC as the change to ICD-10 does not affect CPT (procedure) coding for outpatient procedures.

Diagnosis coding under ICD-10-CM uses 3 to 7 digits instead of the 3 to 5 digits used with ICD-9-CM, but the format of the code sets is similar.

The last regular annual update to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 code sets was made October 1, 2011.  On October 1, 2012 there will be only limited code updates to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 code sets to capture new technology and new diseases.  There will be no updates to ICD-9 –CM on October 1, 2013 as the system will no longer be HIPAA Standard. Claims with ICD-9 codes for services provided on or after October 1, 2013 cannot be paid.

Hopefully, I’ve been able to summarize and capture the changes(in layman’s terms) that have already begun and those that are on the horizon.  Please keep an eye on the Communicator for any updates and any further changes to come.