Facing Hurdles It’s no surprise that O&P offices sometimes run into communications gaps, considering all the factors working against them. For starters, there aren’t enough hands on deck. Lean staffing can mean too few people to make too make necessary calls to patients. When staff spends time making those calls, they are unable to be fully attentive to patients in the office waiting for appointments or information. “There is definitely a labor factor in most practices. You do have limited time and limited resources in a small practice,” says Valora Gurganious, a senior management consultant with health-care consulting firm DoctorsManagement and a former practice manager in an orthopedic practice. Changing preferences in communication methods also prove to be a sticking point. Every day it gets harder for staff making appointment reminder calls to connect with live individuals. “It probably will continue to be more and more challenging to talk to a human patient on the end of the line,” Gurganious says. “It’s a generational thing: Nobody takes calls. Many people don’t even take calls from family members. They just text.”
More than 22 million people speak English less than “very well,” according to the American Medical Association, and more than 34 million people were born in another country. Government regulations may also be short-circuiting the lines, says Linda D’Spain, a health-care consultant with the Practice Management Institute. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines, D’Spain notes that “we do have to protect patient privacy at all times.” Unless a practice has a special consent form on file, that can pose obstacles. “We know cell phones are not always 100-percent private; we know that leaving messages may not be private.”
Se Habla Espanol
Language barriers may be more than just an inconvenience for some providers. More than 22 million people speak English less than “very well,” according to the American
Medical Association, and more than 34 million people were born in another country. For a practitioner not versed in foreign tongues, it can be a challenge to provide even basic information about medical procedures or self-care at home. Abstract topics such as office policy can present even greater difficulties. Providers who take part in Minnesota Health Care Programs, for example, are required by the state to provide spoken language interpreter services to all patients with limited English proficiency, whether or not the patient is a recipient of services within the program. The obligation to close the language gap often may fall to the provider. Providers also may be compelled to help with language under the federal Civil Rights Act, says Michael J. Sacopulos, founder and president of Medical Risk Institute, a Terre Haute, Indiana, consultancy. He notes that health-care providers who receive federal financial funds are mandated by law to take adequate steps to ensure those who can’t speak English are provided with the necessary tools to communicate clearly with practitioners. That includes medical offices receiving Medicaid or Medicare. While it is possible patients may never demand such services, if they do the provider likely will be responsible for providing a translator or other accommodation.
JULY 2013 O&P Almanac
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