Practice tip of the week: Five Telephone Etiquette Tips for Medical Practice Staff

 With all the useful information available on Physicians Practice, it is easy to become overwhelmed.

With this in mind, the tip of the week is a chance to reflect on some of the wisdom found all across the site. In a February 2021 story on five telephone etiquette tips for medical practice staff, Carol Stryker writes the following:

“Patient frustration and anger are generally the result of unmet expectations. It follows, therefore, that the fundamental task in improving patients' satisfaction is to manage and then meet their expectations. How your practice handles telephonic communication with patients provides four excellent examples.

  1. Offer to take a message if you are not immediately prepared to deal with the caller
  2. Ask if the patient can hold and wait for his answer, before putting him on hold.
  3. Don’t let the phone ring a half dozen times.
  4. When taking a message, tell the caller when there will be a response.
  5. Communicate and act as a team.”

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