Medical Customer Service Training
Medical institutions, such as hospitals, offices and health centers, employ customer service professionals to ensure patients feel welcome, cared for and attended. Staff roles, such as receptionists, registration staff, patient account supervisors, medical assistants and managed care coordinators, typically take customer service training customized for medical personnel.
Features
1. Medical customer service training deals with handling patient privacy, high volumes and crisis management. In addition, medical customer representatives face stressful situations involving patient families so role-playing activities prepare participants to utilize customer service excellence practices in a health care setting.
Training topics can include calming upset patients, dealing with uncertainty regarding time and diagnosis, and handling difficult situations with competence. Instructional content features communication and stress management techniques.
Benefits
2. Upon completion, participants can explain the importance of a positive attitude to delivery quality customer service, list the barriers to good health care customer service and apply techniques for dealing with angry patients or family members.
Participants learn to rephrase blunt communication to assuage patient fears and concerns in a professional manner. Students also typically learn to assess their own skills and pinpoint areas of personal improvement.
Content
3. Training content typically covers the key components of basic customer service along with the specific challenges of supporting patient care. Being able to identify the factors that make service a good experience vs. a poor interaction enable health care personnel to respond appropriately.
Role-playing exercises typically include practice patiently explaining health care policies and procedures to people in crisis. Learning to tactfully say “no” helps medical customer service representatives behave professionally on the job. Reviewing case studies on dealing with people who are angry, distraught and frightened can help in establishing boundaries required to deliver the best service under difficult circumstances.
Simulations
4. Simulated situations, such as handling difficult customers in person, by phone, email or voicemail, prepare participants to represent their health care institution in a positive manner. Practice managing people without being rude, handling the end of a conversation with tact and leaving comprehensive voicemails that achieve results help streamline scheduling and problem resolution.
Expert Insight
5. Dealing with frantic people can be stressful. Medical customer service training typically includes a segment on how to manage stress and frustration in a health care setting. Long hours and physically demanding work warrants mental breaks to remain refreshed, alert and competent.