How to Process a Patient

New employees have a very difficult time figuring out the steps of processing a patient. Although, you take notes it seems to be confusing trying to figure out how to organize the steps in the proper order. Everyone does it differently; therefore, there is not a per-say right way to process a patient. First, the patient arrives at the office and signs in on our sign-in sheet. The registration staff scans in their insurance and driver’s license photo. Registration obtains and enters the patient’s proper spelling of name, address, date of birth, phone numbers, social security number, e-mail address, marital status, title, preferred language, ethnicity & race, and doctor they are seeing into the computer. Registration also enters the responsible party, employer, employment status, insurance information, co-pay amount, subscriber’s name, referring physician, documents the forms signed by the patient (i.e. financial responsibility and verbal release consent) in the notes, and an emergency contact. Registration arrives the patient, gives the new patient paperwork, and collects the co-pay. Next, the patient arrives on the grid in Allscripts which lets the medical assistant know the patient is ready to be processed. Depending on the doctor’s protocol makes a difference in how the patient is processed. We have doctor’s that want to see their new patients before obtaining x-rays, therefore, we obtain the vitals and then put them in a room for the doctor to see. Since the doctor’s have different protocol’s that adds a whole new twist on the information you need to learn. Examples of the protocols are patients being seen for their knee and are under the age of 40 we get standing ap, lateral and merchants and it they are 40 or over we get standing ap, standing pa, lateral and merchants. Patients being seen for shoulder either get a three view’s of ap, axillary and zanka or four view which is ap, axillary, scapular lateral and zanka. Patient’s being seen for their