Providing Good Customer Service is the Secret to an MA’s Success

When you think of medical assistant duties and responsibilities, you may not think of customer service. Customer service is crucial to positions in restaurants, retails, and customer support, but it is also important in healthcare. Many healthcare reforms have pushed the healthcare industry to rethink their focus on patient satisfaction. To find success in your medical assistant career, focus on providing excellent customer service.

Why Customer Service Matters in Your Medical Assistant Career

About fifteen years ago, a national survey called the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) started being randomly administered to patients. The purpose of the survey was to set a standard by which hospitals could be compared, and to create incentives for hospitals to improve care. This has also resulted in creating accountability for healthcare facilities. Patients are asked to evaluate their experiences, which are closely tied to customer service skills. Communication with staff, responsiveness of caregivers, communication about treatment, and discharge information are all assessed by the survey. Good responses to the survey mean financial benefits to the hospital, which will then improve patient care even further.

In addition to having accountability, it has been found that positive interactions with medical staff can help patients through difficult situations. When patients feel that they are cared for, listened to, and treated as a customer, not simply a patient, they tend to trust their medical professionals more and will have better outcomes than patients who do not connect with the staff during their treatment.

What Does Good Customer Service Look Like?

In a medical facility, good customer service is about connecting with the patients. Patients want to understand their experience and everyone wants to be treated with respect. Good customer service involves:

• Warmly greeting patients and introducing the staff the patient will interact with. All staff should wear name tags and make sure to greet the patient.
• Taking the time to explain the procedures, what to expect, and where to find more information. Patients who can access information and even schedule appointments online are often very satisfied.
• Answering questions the patient may have. Patients can feel overwhelmed and need to know that you are the expert. If a staff member doesn’t have the answer immediately, letting the patient know you are looking for the answer can help.
• Keeping patient areas neat, orderly, and welcoming.

How to Excel in All Medical Assistant Duties and Responsibilities

Obviously, excelling in medical assistant duties and responsibilities means performing all administrative and clinical tasks well. But excellent customer service skills, even skills you may have gained in another industry, will also go a long way toward success in a medical assistant career. When looking for a position as a medical assistant, make sure to highlight your interpersonal skills in customer-facing roles, even roles that are not in the healthcare field. Someone who can communicate well, make connections with people, and demonstrate flexibility will have great success in a medical assistant career.

People with excellent interpersonal skills can often find great success in a medical assistant career. The duties and responsibilities of a medical assistant, when performed by someone who enjoys working with people and has excellent communication skills, are in high demand by a variety of facilities. If you have skills in customer service, a medical assistant career can be an excellent option. To learn more about our accredited programs, contact Athena Career Academy today!