Laura Nelson If you don't know who Laura Nelson is, you probably should.  Laura runs a consulting company called Front Office Rocks, and is quickly making a name for herself as one of practice management's bright lights.  We have featured her twice as a guest columnist, and her articles have been wildly popular with our readers.  So we are all looking forward to Laura's next installment.

How to Prepare the Morning Huddle

A morning huddle isn’t just about reviewing what procedures are being done that day.  It should include every piece of information about the patients on that day’s schedule so that the whole team can fully take care of the patient’s needs. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for your office to be having a morning huddle each and every day before you start seeing patients. The morning huddle is essential to get everyone on the same page and plan out the day. Everyone on your staff should be responsible for getting ready for the morning huddle and being prepared to share information regarding the patients scheduled.

• An accurately prepared morning huddle, at a minimum, starts the day before.
• Have one person responsible for reviewing the following day’s upcoming patient appointments and double check the schedule.
• Have your Financial Coordinator reviewing the next day’s appointments for outstanding balances. and call on any outstanding insurance claims.
• Update the patient’s file with any notes relevant to the upcoming appointment or balance.
• Print the schedule out to review in the morning huddle

Completing the “next day review process”  primes the day to go as smoothly as possible for the staff and patients.  Being prepared prior to patients arriving in your office is not only exceptional customer service, but it also lowers the stress of your front office team.  Preparation in the huddle means knowing details about the patient—their balances, their appointment, or any pertinent information.  By reviewing the schedule ahead of time, you are able to determine if there are any incomplete tasks or outstanding issues that need to be resolved prior to the patient’s appointment or upon their arrival at the office. Not sure what needs to happen within the morning huddle? Visit Front Office Rocks to learn for more information or call us at 1-800-914-3595. See Laura's video introduction to David Harris here -- Laura Hatch video for David Harris Feb 2017