Patients run into many challenging and frustrating situations, especially at the front desk.
Many of the more confrontational problems happen at the front desk. Demands for money, refusing services, unreasonable policies, and unending paperwork frequently frustrate patients, and for good reason. Clinics tend to dump all of these unpleasant parts of their practice on their front desk staff. From the clinic side of things, there are concerns about aggression towards clinic receptionists. The industry focus is back on patients rather than rethinking how front office staff are tasked with engaging with patients. There are some things you can do as a patient to make the process easier.
Online paperwork
See if the clinic offers a way to fill out any needed information online before your visit. Some will have this on their website. Larger clinics may send you a reminder email for the appointment that includes a link to fill out all of the needed information so you don’t have to fill out paper forms at the appointment. This can help save time and avoid receptionists looking to nitpick or gatekeep patients.
Check-In Kiosks
Many larger clinics have added check-in kiosks. Using these touchscreen tools to provide any needed information and let the clinic know you are there can sidestep the kinds of hassles frequently created at the reception desk. These also remove potential bias from the process. The kiosk can’t judge you by your mode of dress, the color of your skin, what might be perceived as income level, or class judgments. Kiosks are also less likely to include unnecessary requests or interactions in the process that you may be confronted with by a receptionist.
Pre Check-In
Some clinics have a pre check-in process that allows you to fill in all the needed information so all you should need to do once you arrive is to let them know you are there. Take advantage of these when available. This will save time and reduce the interaction needed with the front desk staff.
Telehealth
Can you do this appointment as telehealth with another provider or with this provider? This skips all of the paperwork and gatekeeping of the front desk and saves you a trip. Some minor needs like medication refills or rechecks that won’t require lab work or an exam may be good options via telehealth.
Common Front Desk Problems
Some of the more common front desk problems involve money, insurance, or attempts to upsell or extract more money out of patients.
Money
Front desk staff are frequently tasked with harassing patients if they have an outstanding balance. If you are unable to meet whatever request they are making, ask them point blank if you are going to be unable to see the doctor without whatever payment request they are making. Sometimes this is enough to get them to drop the issue or they may offer that pre-paying your copay or making a small minimum payment would suffice. If the request is unreasonable you can opt to leave. Clinic staff can convince themselves that they hold all of the cards and forget that patients are their customers. If they are being rude, asking for an unreasonable amount of money, or some other unreasonable demand you can politely opt to cancel your appointment and leave. The receptionist then has to explain how they ran off a patient and lost an appointment by pushing too hard or being rude.
Insurance
The clinic probably hates your health insurance company as much as you do. Clinics asking you to pay cash then send a claim to your insurance but the clinic claims to be in network for that insurance and that the clinic does take insurance should be a red flag. If the clinic takes your insurance they should be filing the claim, not you. This could be a sign that the clinic is having issues with the office being able to process claims or hassles from your insurance company. There are some clinics that do not take insurance but these are usually very clear up front that they are cash only.
Upsells And Money Requests
Front desk staff are frequently tasked with whatever income-generating scheme a clinic might have. Some of these can be incredibly questionable. Membership plans or extended service agreements where you pay a large amount upfront or monthly fees to keep coming in for something you may not really need are a common scam used by some healthcare clinics to pad their income. Anything that asks you to sign a contract should be a sign to find a different provider.
Upsells like supplements, accessories, additional services, or anything similar that you didn’t discuss with the provider as being necessary are sales pitches. They are also the most likely to be unnecessary and overpriced. Surprise fees or costs are a less frequent problem but they do happen. If you are asked to pay for something you didn’t agree to, were never told about, or didn’t receive, refuse to pay for it. Offer to pay what you do owe. If they continue to press the issue, walk out. The worst they could do would be to call the police claiming you didn’t pay. They would then have to explain to the police how they were trying to scam you out of money you didn’t agree to or didn’t actually owe.
Unnecessary Treatments
Some more unscrupulous clinics may try to pressure patients into completely unnecessary treatments or diagnostics to pad their bottom line. If you don’t really want the test, don’t see any true benefit, or are receiving a hard sell from a doctor or clinic staff refuse the test or treatment. If staff tell you “insurance will cover it” to try to convince you to agree to whatever it is, this is a big red flag. This is a sales tactic used to try to convince patients to consent to sometimes really expensive things with the assumption they would be free or cheap for the patient. In reality, many of these are not free, or may not even be covered by your insurance. Don’t fall for this. It may also be a sign you need to find a different provider that is more trustworthy.
Rude Or Unsafe Situations
If you are feeling you are not being respected, feel unsafe in any way, or don’t feel like you are in control of the situation it is ok to politely get up and leave. People often feel they have to comply with everything that goes on at a doctor’s office or clinic. Being confrontational isn’t a good idea but you are there seeking advice, you don’t hand over all of your rights and autonomy at the door. It is ok to politely end an appointment and leave at any point. Any attempt to not allow you to leave could be construed as kidnapping.
Deal With Problems Afterwords
Some problems are better handled afterward rather than an argument or confrontation in a clinic. Find a way to gracefully and politely get yourself out of the situation. Then handle it later with the proper department. Most larger clinics have administration or customer service offices. A billing or insurance department is going to be better able to resolve a problem than the front desk staff would. If you encountered something potentially illegal or unsafe, look for a patient advocate’s office tied to the clinic or in some cases, the complaint should go to outside oversight. Inappropriate, unethical, or dangerous behavior by doctors or nurses can be filed as a complaint to the medical or nursing board of your state.
Financial activities that may be unethical or illegal can be reported to your state’s consumer agency. Questionable antics around insurance coverage should be reported to your insurance company. Providers are required to abide by certain rules to be in network with that insurance company. Insurance companies may compel them to comply or potentially kick them off as a provider.
Let other people know. Post about your experience on Yelp, Google, or other review venues. You may save someone else from what you experienced. It may also be enough public shaming for a clinic to change its ways.
Go Elsewhere
If you are running into problems at a clinic that really should be an opportunity to rethink your options. Most insurance coverage will allow you to use a variety of providers so you may not be stuck with this particular provider or clinic. Other options may include a bit more of a drive but may be worth it for a better experience and fewer headaches. If you genuinely don’t have other local options, look to see if this need can be handled by telehealth. Telehealth companies can treat a variety of conditions and don’t tie you to only local options. You can also consider reducing the use of a clinic if it is your only option. Some ongoing appointments are truly necessary, some have little benefit. Look for needs that could be spun off to a different provider or specialist, or where you may not really need all of those appointments.
