How should the MA handle a call if the caller asks for the physician but will not identify himself or herself?

Screening Incoming Calls

Most physicians expect the medical assistant to screen all telephone calls. The physician and office manager provide guidance on the type of calls to be routed to the physician and those that he or she will return at a later time. The medical assistant should become familiar with their preferences and also use good judgment, much of which comes with experience, in deciding whether to put through a call to the physician.

If it is office policy, put calls from other physicians through at once. If the physician is busy and cannot possibly come to the telephone, explain this briefly and politely, then say that the physician will return the call as soon as possible.

Many callers ask, “Is the doctor in?” or “May I speak to the doctor?” Avoid answering with a simple “Yes” or “No” or by responding with the question, “Who is calling, please?” If the physician is not in, say so before asking the identity of the caller. Otherwise, the impression may be created that the physician is just not willing to talk with this person.

If the physician is away from the office, the rule of offering assistance still holds. The medical assistant may say, “No, I am sorry, Dr. Frank is not in. May I take a message?” or “No, I am sorry, but Dr. Frank will be at the hospital most of the morning. May I ask her to return your call after 1 o’clock?”

If the physician is in and is available for telephone calls, a typical response would be, “Yes, Dr. Frank is in; may I say who is calling, please?”

When physicians prefer to keep telephone calls to a minimum, say, “Yes, Dr. Frank is in the office, but she is not free to come to the phone. May I take a message, please?” By responding in this way, the physician is not committed to taking the call.

During the time a physician is examining a patient, he or she will not wish to be interrupted with a routine call. In such cases you might say, “Yes, Dr. Frank is in, but she is with a patient right now. May I help you?” or “Yes, Dr. Frank is in, but she is with a patient right now. Is there anything you would like me to ask her?”

Try to guard against being overprotective. A patient should be able to talk with the physician when absolutely necessary, but unless it is an emergency, the patient probably is willing to do so at the physician’s convenience. The medical assistant who answers the telephone acts as a screen, not a roadblock.

Although no one wants to sit next to a telephone waiting on a physician to call, this is the reality in most cases. In fact, physicians almost always rely on their staff to give them messages from patients and then follow up on the instructions the physician gives for each patient. Staff members should provide an approximate time frame within which the patient’s call will be returned, but they must always stress that the time is an estimate. Emergencies cannot be predicted, and it may be impossible to abide by that time frame. Always ask for the patient’s cell phone number, if available, then ask him or her to keep the phone handy for the rest of the day. Make every effort to return calls by noon for morning messages and by the time the office closes for afternoon messages. By cross-training all employees to take accurate messages and document calls, any employee can return calls, even if he or she did not take the original message.

Find out exactly how calls are to be handled when the physician is out of the office and under what circumstances he or she can be interrupted when on the premises. Cultivate a reputation for being helpful and reliable. A medical assistant can save the physician many interruptions if patients develop confidence in the medical assistant’s ability to help them and have faith in his or her promises to take messages and deliver them properly. (For more tips on handling telephone calls, visit the Evolve site at evolve.elsevier.com/kinn.)

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Critical Thinking Application

Ashlynn answers the phone; the caller is a male pharmaceutical representative who has been visiting the clinic for several months. She cheerfully greets him and asks if he is calling to make an appointment. He states that he wants to make an appointment with Ashlynn—for a date. How should she handle this call? What problems could arise if this were a patient and Ashlynn were to accept the date?