Office gossip, Medscape, Meyeroff
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7/16/13 2:21 PM Office Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your Practice Page 1 of 3 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807184 Speaking of Hepatitis, Speaking of Hepatitis, We Have 'A' Vaccine We Have 'A' Vaccine Physicians Urged to Ask Physicians Urged to Ask Elderly Patients About Elderly Patients About Guns Guns 'Caution' Warranted if 'Caution' Warranted if Consuming Artificial Consuming Artificial Sweeteners Sweeteners Obesity Disease Obesity Disease Classification Will Help Classification Will Help With Treatment With Treatment News Medscape Today News & Perspectives Business of Medicine Other Specialties Reference Reference & Tools Drug Interaction Checker Healthcare Directory Medline Education Medscape Today Education & Training Other Specialties CME Tracker Connect W Meyeroff Log Out My Account Medscape Today News News Reference Education MEDLINE No instant look-up matches. Search within full reference content by clicking the "SEARCH" button or pressing enter. 3 comments 3 comments Print Print Email Email Medscape Business of Medicine Office Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your Practice Wendy J. Meyeroff Disclosures Jul 10, 2013 Introduction Doctors work hard to provide the best clinical care, but if your office is rife with gossip and bad front office behavior, the environment can undermine your efforts to build a successful practice. Even if the majority of your staff are polite, considerate, and effective, one problematic staff member can change the tone of the practice experience for patients. As in any workplace, a variety of toxic verbiage can develop in Most Popular Articles According to PHYSICIANS 1. 'Caution' Warranted if Consuming Artificial Sweeteners 2. CMS Proposes New Fee for Chronic Care Management 3. Irregular Bedtimes Impair Children's Cognitive Development Editors' Recommendations Can Health Apps Help Patients Change Their Behavior? 'I Can't Give You That Test': How to Tell Patients What to Do When a Patient Wants 'Alternative' Medicine Topic Alert Receive an email from Medscape whenever
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My office gossip feature is on Medscape's Business of Medicine site. It's a practice management story about how bad staff behaviors--including gossiping--can diminish practice reputation and finances.--Wendy Meyeroff
Transcript of Office gossip, Medscape, Meyeroff
7/16/13 2:21 PMOffice Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your Practice
Page 1 of 3http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807184
Speaking of Hepatitis,Speaking of Hepatitis,We Have 'A' VaccineWe Have 'A' Vaccine
Physicians Urged to AskPhysicians Urged to AskElderly Patients AboutElderly Patients AboutGunsGuns
'Caution' Warranted if'Caution' Warranted ifConsuming ArtificialConsuming ArtificialSweetenersSweeteners
Obesity DiseaseObesity DiseaseClassification Will HelpClassification Will HelpWith TreatmentWith Treatment
News
Medscape Today News & PerspectivesBusiness of Medicine
Other Specialties
Reference
Reference & ToolsDrug Interaction Checker
Healthcare DirectoryMedline
Education
Medscape Today Education & TrainingOther Specialties
CME Tracker
ConnectW Meyeroff
Log Out My Account
Medscape TodayNews
NewsReferenceEducationMEDLINE
No instant look-up matches. Search within full reference content by clicking the "SEARCH" button or pressing enter.
3 comments3 comments PrintPrint EmailEmail
Medscape Business of Medicine
Office Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your PracticeWendy J. Meyeroff Disclosures
Jul 10, 2013
Introduction
Doctors work hard to provide the best clinical care, but if your office is rifewith gossip and bad front office behavior, the environment can undermine
your efforts to build a successful practice.
Even if the majority ofyour staff are polite,
considerate, andeffective, one
problematic staffmember can change the
tone of the practiceexperience for patients.
As in any workplace, avariety of toxic
verbiage can develop in
Most Popular ArticlesAccording to PHYSICIANS
1. 'Caution' Warranted if Consuming ArtificialSweeteners
2. CMS Proposes New Fee for Chronic CareManagement
3. Irregular Bedtimes Impair Children'sCognitive Development
Editors' Recommendations
Can Health Apps HelpPatients Change Their
Behavior?
'I Can't Give You ThatTest': How to Tell Patients
What to Do When aPatient Wants 'Alternative'
Medicine
Topic AlertReceive an email from Medscape whenever
7/16/13 2:21 PMOffice Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your Practice
Page 2 of 3http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807184
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3 comments3 comments
doctors' offices: bullying, hurtful gossip, deliberate or unintended breachesof privacy. But consequences in healthcare can be much more severe.
Consider these examples:
• "In one physician's office, the front office staff was a revolving door. Lab people, receptions, billing people...the practicecouldn't retain its staffers," says Kristin Baird, RN, president of The Baird Group, a consulting group focusing on the patientexperience, in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. She discovered that the partners knew the cause of the problem: an office managerwho reigned through verbal abuse. "The staffers had reported their issues," Baird says, "and the doctors' response was, 'We
know, but she's a rock.'"
• As an extremely demanding patient is finally walking out the door, the NPsays to the receptionist, "Boy, I'm glad to see that pain-in-the-neck go." Unfortunately, she says it loudly enough that the
patient overhears it.
• A doctor looking over paperwork at the front desk exclaims, "Oh, I see Jon Smith has another positive STD test."
• A long-time receptionist regularly offers tidbits on coworkers, such as, "Have you heard that Susie and her husband havestarted marriage counseling?"
The Impact on Patient Relations
"When patients observe staff fighting, it diminishes their trust in the organization," says Baird.
As do unthinking remarks, like the NP maligning the exiting patient. Such interchanges can lead patients to wonder what thestaff is saying about them; it’s not a positive feeling for an office to convey.
"Staff rudeness does matter," says Jeff Brunken, president of Salt Lake City-based MGIS Companies, which providesmalpractice insurance. "We have data showing that it can make patients more prone to sue, even when they like their
physician. If we hear of a practice that is consistently noted for rude staff, it could impact premiums."
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Medscape Business of Medicine © 2013 WebMD, LLC
Cite this article: Office Gossip, Bad Behavior: How It Sabotages Your Practice. Medscape. Jul 10, 2013.
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