A Busy Morning at the Front Desk

In practice

At eight o'clock, the phones start ringing. The first caller wants a routine refill. The medical assistant takes her name, date of birth and callback number, and routes the request to the clinical team, as the practice's process directs. The second caller says her father has chest pressure and is sweating. The medical assistant acts at once. She follows the practice's emergency protocol, which directs the caller to emergency services, and she alerts the provider at once. The third caller is a parent whose child has a fever and a rash. Using the practice's triage guidelines, she checks with the clinical team, who ask her to book the child into one of the morning's buffer slots. Meanwhile, at the desk, a patient's neighbor recognizes someone in the waiting room and asks, "Is she here because of her heart again?" The medical assistant answers that she can't discuss anyone who may or may not be a patient. When a patient checks in, she asks for the patient's name and date of birth quietly, rather than calling out the reason for the visit. By ten o'clock, both buffer slots have been used. She notes the schedule for the provider and keeps the day moving.