Janie Haynes consistently arrives at the clinic between 15 and 45 minutes late. She always has a “good” excuse?

May 2021 3 74 Report

Janie Haynes consistently arrives at the clinic between 15 and 45 minutes late. She always has a “good” excuse?

Janie Haynes consistently arrives at the clinic between 15 and 45 minutes late. She always has a “good” excuse, but she could make her appointments on time if she had better time management skills. The office manager has mentioned to Paula, the receptionist, that Janie is to be scheduled at 4:45 pm and if she is late, she will not be seen by the physician. Paula books Janie’s next three appointments at that time, and Janie actually arrives early. However, on the fourth appointment, Janie arrives at 5:50 pm, and Paula knows that it is her responsibility to tell Janie that she cannot see the physician. How does Paula handle this task? Is there more than one option?

plz help,,,thank you

Pregnancy & Parenting / Toddler & Preschooler

beachchick08

Verified answer

The office should have a policy, such as patients arriving more than 15 minutes late will need to pay the cancellation fee and reschedule their appointment. Patients should be given the rule upon joining the practice or 30 days before the rule goes into effect. If the physician does not enforce the rule, he/she needs to send a letter to the patient letting them know that the next time they are late, their appointment will be canceled and they will be charged the cancellation fee. If this rule is in place, the receptionist can simply say "I am sorry, but in order to keep our physicians on schedule and to ensure that all patients can see their physician as scheduled, our office's policy says that patients who arrive more than 15 minutes late will be charged the cancellation fee and will need to reschedule their appointment. If you would like to reschedule, I have the following times available..." They could also simple say "I'm sorry Miss Haynes, but your appointment was at 4:45 and the physician does not have any available appointments this evening, would you like to reschedule?" When they reschedule, remind them that if they are a late then the physician will not be able to see them and they will need to reschedule.