Little healthcare information tip

I’ve worked in medical/dental offices in various capacities for over 18 years.  I’ve been the receptionist, the dental assistant, the insurance coordinator, the patient accounts trainer, the practice manager/administrator, and the consultant, among several other roles and titles.

Currently, I work from home. I listen to recorded calls online from 7 dental practices in CT, NJ, WA, NY, and TN, and 2 orthopedic practices in NE.  When people call in to make an appointment, I get to hear both sides of the conversation to make sure that the call handlers are saying what they’re supposed to, providing good service, and not missing opportunities for new patients.

I’ve been amazed at many things over the years working in this field.  But lately I’m most amazed at how many people call an office for the first time to make an appointment, and they don’t know what their insurance is, and they don’t have the card with them. 

It’s just hard to fathom, to me, that a person would not have that info in their wallet at all times.  And if they don’t keep it there for some odd reason, why wouldn’t they have it at the ready when they’re calling an office that they will expect to be billing that insurance?  If your method of payment is an insurance company, it seems that would be info you’d be sure to have right there…

So for the sake of the next office you call for the first time, not that any of YOU would lack this nugget common sense already, here’s your free tips…

~Always keep your insurance cards, medical and dental, in your wallet. If you get a new one in the mail, switch them out immediately and you’re all set.

~When you call a new office to make an appointment, have your applicable insurance card available.  It’ll just make everything easier for everyone.

Why do they need it? Because generally the office should be calling or checking online for your benefits to be sure they’re current and to be able to let you know what your patient responsibility will be prior to the date of service. It’s to provide you with the most info about what fees you can expect to incur from this service.  So don’t be grouchy, just be prepared to share what they need so they can provide you the most accurate info.

Oh…One more tip… 

~When it says “this call may be recorded” it means from the time the phone starts ringing til the call ends.

Including when you’re on hold.  (“Billy! Stop licking the dog!” or random saucy comments to another party in the room)

Including when you’re choosing options. (“I hate these automated phone systems! *%#@$ and *&*#@” )

And if you’re in one of those states making an appointment for one of those types of office, maybe I’ll hear ya. 

What? Creepy?  Well, wouldn’t you rather it be me than who knows who else?

Day one

I want to do something cool this year. I want to gain lots of new followers and make people smile and go, “Hey, I wish I’d written that!”  I want to remember things because I documented them and wrote about them here. I want to have great discussions via all the wonderful comments I receive and respond to.

Wouldn’t that be great?

I am overwhelmed right now with more tasks than there are hours in the day. More than I’ve ever experienced in my almost 40 years.  Life has spun to a new level of busy and hurried.  Things aren’t necessarily bad, just far more daily commitments than I’d prefer.  Some are by choice. Some are just life.  Combined, I’m just plain exhausted. All areas are suffering… my health, home, relationships, and sanity.  Today I took a first step toward some small bit of improvement.  One day at a time.

I will try, though. I will try to post more. I will try to stay connected.

Packing picky

Tomorrow the husband and daughter will be heading to St. Louis without me to visit Grandma C a bit and clear out of here for a couple days. This is to allow me to dive in to two uninterrupted days of tearing up and re-organizing this house, starting with my office. We'll see how it goes. I'm excited for the chance to dive in for a big ole' block of time. I enjoy this kind of thing, but I get so darn frustrated that I only get to do little bits and it always ends up worse when I'm done. So I appreciate the chance to give it a try. Maybe I'll take before and after pics. Let's just say, I am about 19 months behind in filing, and I'm usually super detailed about filing.

Tonight I was packing the bag for them, and I'm trying to make it very clear what my intentions are for Braska's stuff without packing notes with each item. But when it comes to dressing for church, there's no taking chances. So I made a little bundle of things, including her onesie, tights, shoes, hair bow, and the three-piece outfit.

Too much?? I think not. M would admit to not having a clue about how to dress her when it comes to needing to match. I'm just trying to be helpful. For the "casualwear," I didn't go to such lengths, leaving off the ribbon-tied element. I just put BabyLegs and socks inside the matching folded long-sleeved onesie...times 3. (She tends to ooze after feedings sometimes, and I can't stand to leave her in wet, icky clothes.)

Here's hoping for a productive couple of days, and that Braska will behave for her Pop. She's awfully darn attached to me. This will be the longest she's been away from Mommy. I think I'm due for a break, even if it is a work-36-hours-straight break!

Best laid plans

Today was going to be a day to get things done. We didn't need to go anywhere, we didn't have any interruptions on the schedule. I was going to get caught up with work-work, make a dent in the backlog of housework, and start tackling the 10 x 10 pile of paperwork that I still half-heartedly call my office. I love productive days.

That was the plan. The reality was a bit different. Braska was especially grouchy this morning, a pattern that's been increasing the last few days. It's not fun and completely out of character for her. I realized that we had never returned the syringe pump that we used for feeding, even though we haven't used it in over 4 months. After getting Braska dressed to go out, she spit up on her outfit...repeat twice. Eventually we got the belly settled and more clean clothes on, so I ran that over to the medical supply place. When we got back it was lunch time, M was home, time to feed him and then it was Braska's turn. She griped and complained and finally fell asleep on me. I decided the sleep was more valuable than my getting up to do anything active, so I held her with one arm and worked on some work-work with the other, laptop precariously perched on one leg. Typing with one hand is not my forte.

When she woke up, she was happier, thank goodness, but I must admit that my motivation for this big productive day had waned. She rolled around on the floor talking to herself and her toys in a grumpy tone for a while as I finished up several batches and projects. At least I got that done!

Now it's almost time for M to be home, and I should be thinking about what I'll do for dinner. I'm for cereal all around, but then I could do that just about every day. I need to do a whirlwind kitchen cleaning in the next 13 minutes before I can think about getting more stuff out to start dinner. We'll see if the BraskaBear is agreeable to the situation...