Job responsibilities
JOB TITLE: MEDICAL RECEPTIONIST
REPORTS TO: RECEPTION TEAM LEADER/S
Job Summary:
Receive, assist and signposting patients in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient, and effective way for the best possible outcome for the patient.
Provide general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.
Job Responsibilities:
Reception
- Greeting and directing patients
- Accepting and handing out prescriptions, letters, completed forms, specimen bottles etc in accordance with practice policy
- Dealing with requests for information
- Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients, those seeking temporary cover and emergency patients requiring immediately necessary treatment
Administration
- To have a thorough knowledge of all Practice procedures
- To work in accordance with written protocols
- Filing/scanning post as necessary
- Scan and photocopy as requested
- Tagging of medical records
- Pulling/filing notes for surgeries and update as necessary
- Dealing with the post as necessary
Appointments
- Process appointment requests for urgent (today) and routine (future) appointments from patients by telephone and in person
- Ensure efficiency of appointment system
- Deal with visit requests, recording in the necessary book including all relevant information and notifying the duty doctor where necessary. Print out a patient summary for each home visit ready for doctor
Computer
- Registration of new patients computer data entry and medical records
- Process patients change of address, name, dob etc computer data and medical records (having knowledge of Practice area)
- Processing repeat prescription requests in accordance with Practice guidelines
- Use text messaging software to communicate with patients
Telephone
- Have working knowledge of telephone system, during and after hours.
- Assist the team with all telephone calls: incoming, outgoing, internal and external
- Taking messages and recording appropriate details, passing them on to the relevant person in a timely manner
Other Tasks
- Process paper records arriving from the Health Authority on a weekly basis and distributing the contents as appropriate
- Process DNA text messages/letters as needed
- Deal with the ordering of pre-printed reception stationery as required to include the prescriptions
- Attend monthly reception meetings
- Attend any other staff meetings as they arise
- Assist with the training of other staff
- Clear rooms after surgeries
- Ensure building security have thorough knowledge of doors/windows/shutters/alarm
- Any other tasks allocated by managers
Confidentiality:
- While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
- In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
- Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data
Health & safety:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
- Undertaking periodic infection control training
- Reporting potential risks identified
Equality and diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/professional development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient needs
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
Communication:
The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Contribution to the implementation of services:
The post-holder will:
- Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
- Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
- Participate in audit where appropriate