Emergency Customer Service

Customer Service takes on a new meaning when applied to service jobs in the medical field. Doctor’s offices hire many skilled, licensed nurses and technicians, but every person needs to have excellent customer service skills as well.

My daughter and her three children were visiting recently. On a trip to the park, my eight-year-old grandson fell off the monkey bars and hurt his wrist. After a night of applying ice and watching for swelling, we ended up taking him to an Urgent Care clinic for a professional opinion. An x-ray and an examination by the doctor revealed a slight wrist fracture in need of a light cast. My grandson thought the idea of a cast was “way cool” and requested a blue one. Since she was from out of state, there were questions on how to handle the insurance. The office assistant made some inquiries and told my daughter exactly what she needed to do to get the appropriate authorizations for a referral for her particular type of insurance and gave her the phone numbers to call.

Once she called the insurance company, she was told she needed an authorization from her primary care physician. Sandy was the contact person at the pediatrician’s office, and she went into action. She contacted the insurance company to be sure that the office visit and any other visits were going to be covered. Since my daughter had to pay for the visit at the Urgent Care, she provided her with the billing codes to use when she filed a claim for reimbursement.

Back at the Urgent Care, the doctor and his crew got the name and phone number of an orthopedic center where she could go to for the cast. Another call to Sandy back at her pediatrician’s office, and Sandy got the needed referral, called the orthopedic office, obtained the billing codes (good for three visits—just in case) and all the phone numbers and other information needed. My daughter was able to call and get an early appointment to get the cast taken care of. As she was leaving, the office assistant handed my daughter her business card so she could contact her with any questions she may have.

All this happened in a matter of hours. When an accident happens to a child when the family is on vacation, it can be confusing and a little scary. Who can you call? What is the procedure? How can I get care fast? The staff at the Urgent Care and Sandy back at the pediatrician’s office came together as a team to provide amazing customer service to handle a medical emergency. Each person was focused on how to help my grandson, daughter and each other solve the problem and find a fast, cost-effective solution. What they also provided, at no additional cost, was peace of mind. They saved the day and the rest of the vacation. Though my grandson won’t be playing in the surf at the beach as planned, he will have a “way cool” blue cast to show off when he goes back to school.

Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for Customerservicejobs.com. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and helping clients discover what they love and spend their life on it. You can read more of her blogs at http://www.csjobsblog.com/ and view additional job postings on Nexxt