Job responsibilities
Folly Lane
Medical Centre
Medical Receptionist Job Description
Job
Title: Medical
Receptionist
Responsible To: Senior Receptionist/Practice Manager
The
Purpose Of
The Post:
To provide a high
quality, professional reception and administrative service to patients,
doctors, staff, colleagues, health service professionals and others.
The person will be
expected to act as first point of contact for patients contacting the Practice,
and to portray the Practice in the highest possible professional basis. To
ensure that enquiries from patients are efficiently and courteously handled to
the mutual satisfaction of the partners and patients.
Working
in a busy Practice puts staff in a special position of trust and responsibility
as the first person with whom the patients have contact at the Surgery. It is the Receptionists attitude to them and
the impression they make which is of prime importance to the Practice as a
whole. It is imperative to convey a courteous and caring impression at all
times to the Practices patients.
Main Duties And
Responsibilities
- Opening and preparing the premises punctually in the morning.
- Greet patients and visitors to the
practice.
- Book in, amend and cancel patient
appointments in line with practice appointments procedures ensuing optimum
efficiency of the appointment system.
- Ensure that patients without appointments
but who need 'urgent consultations are booked into appropriate slots and
referred to a GP where necessary.
- Receive and accurately record requests for
home visits, and print off home visit summary sheets.
- Ensure computerised appointment system is
up-to-date.
- Respond and/or redirect all patient and
visitor requests accordingly.
- Explain practice arrangements and formal
requirements to new patients and temporary residents, ensure procedures
are completed.
- Creation of new patients records on the clinical
computer system.
- Arranging consultations for private patients.
- Advising patients of relevant charges for
private services, accept payment and issue receipts for same.
- Taking and recording messages.
- Produce repeat prescriptions according to
practice procedures and ensure timely distribution of completed
prescriptions.
- Workflow (scanning) ensuring letters are
scanned onto patients records within 24 to 48 hours (maximum) of receipt,
and coded appropriately.
- Ensure correspondence, reports, results
etc. are coded and filed electronically in correct patient record.
- Care Navigation (Patient Adviser)
signposting patients to appropriate services.
- Ensure reception and waiting areas are
kept neat and tidy.
- Answering incoming telephone calls,
ensuring calls are documented and redirected accordingly.
- Undertake administration tasks as
allocated on rota organised by Senior Receptionist.
- Ensure up-to-date maintenance of both
computerised and manual filing systems (i.e. patient notes).
- Flexibility to cross cover sickness and
holidays.
- Check
emails on a daily basis.
- Opening and distributing mail.
- Circulating messages appropriately using electronic
systems.
- Office evening closedown procedure.
- Work safely at all times in accordance with Legislative requirements
and Practice Policy and Procedures.
Clerical Duties
- Use of electronic postal system for majority of post.
- Purchasing of stamps and posting of mail.
- Updating and maintaining of manual patient records where
appropriate.
- Entering of data onto the Practice computerised medical information
system.
Equipment, Machinery & Systems
1. Personal
Computer system including internet activity which is utilised as a means of
communication both internally and externally.
2. Practice
Clinical System: to manage and record patient appointments, inputting patient
registration data, accessing patient data as necessary and when undertaking
audits..
3. The
post-holder is responsible for, together with others, maintaining the accuracy
of the Practices Clinical System.
Assignment Of Work
1. The
post-holders work assignment is determined by the requirements of the
Practice, GP Partners, the Practice Manager and the patients.
2. The
Practice Manager provides immediate line-management for the post-holder. The post holder will take instruction on a
day to day basis from the Senior Receptionist.
However, the post-holder is expected to be self-directed and
self-motivated using their own initiative and requiring minimum input from the Senior
Receptionist, once the probation period has been completed.
3. The
Post-holders work is formally reviewed at 4 weeks, 3 months and 6 months
during the probationary period. If the probationary period is not successfully
completed a further 3 month extension can be granted. Following a successful
probationary period the post-holders work will be reviewed by annual
appraisal.
4. The
post-holder must be proactive in forward planning, identifying and implementing
improvements within and beyond their key result areas, anticipating and
communicating future internal and external requirements.
Decisions & Judgements
1. The
post-holder is required to use her/his own initiative when dealing with
problems and to make any reasonable and necessary decisions on events as they
occur, including:
Establishing
and maintaining effective lines of communication with the GPs and Practice
Manager.
Communicating
clearly and effectively with staff to aid the smooth running of the Practice.
Responding
to requests or queries for support as they arise in an appropriate and timely
manner.
Prioritising
workload and requests for support.
Making
the most effective use of resources available.
Using
judgement and experience in helping to determine the relevant urgency of or
requests for information received from patients and other external
organisations.
Most Challenging Aspects Of The Job
- Managing the many conflicting priorities that the post requires.
- Ensuring clear protocols for the prioritisation of work.
- Providing and maintaining a professional and effective dialogue with
patients.
Physical, Mental, Emotional And Environmental Demands Of
The Job
- The post-holder is required to have keen hand/eye co-ordination to
undertake his/her primary task.
- The post holder is required to be methodical and work to a
structure, seeing problems through to their satisfactory conclusion.
- The post-holder is required to work in a well-organised and
professional manner to meet the demands of the work, maintaining
concentration and accuracy.
- The post-holder is often required to work independently of others
and to be self-determined.
- The post holder is required to communicate effectively and possess
an aptitude for dealing with potentially difficult or demanding
situations.
Knowledge, Training And Experience Required To Do The
Job
- The post-holder must be understanding and approachable to patients
and able to respond to patient requests.
- The post-holder is required to have well-developed keyboard skills.
- The post-holder must be able to communicate effectively and
collaboratively across varied staff disciplines.
- The post-holder must clearly understand the importance of
maintaining patient and data confidentiality.
Communication And Relationships
- Internally with the GPs, Practice Manager and colleagues to help
ensure that practice aims and objectives are met.
- Internally and externally with colleagues, healthcare professionals
and others within the Primary and Secondary Care sectors with regard to
the needs of the Practice and the needs of patients registered at the
Practice.
- Externally with patients registered at the Practice.
Housekeeping
Ensuring
premises are kept clean and tidy between visits from the cleaning staff.
Other
Duties
- It is important that all members of staff are prepared to take on
additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain
efficient running of the Practice.
- The Practice Manager/Partners reserve the right to redistribute
duties and functions among members of staff from time to time, and
requests for such changes shall not be unreasonably refused.
Confidentiality:
In
the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to
gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other
matters. They do so in confidence and
have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act
appropriately.
In
the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder
may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their
carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information
relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be
regarded as strictly confidential.
Information
relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the
business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in
accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality
and the protection of personal and sensitive data
