In this module, we will talk about some of the closing responsibilities that you have as a PR team member, and how to complete doctor start times, which is one of the important closing tasks. This module is split into 3 sections: Front Desk Closing Responsibilities, Phones Room Closing Responsibilities, and Doctor Start Times. Please note that if you are working at an office where you are scheduled to do Phones/Front Desk (like at JT or TSC), you are entrusted with completing both the front desk and the phones room closing tasks, in addition to the doctor start times. But as you will soon see-the closing tasks are quite simple!
front desk closing responsibilities
If you are working the front desk at any of our office locations, there are a few closing tasks that you must complete at the end of the day before you leave. These tasks are listed on the PR checklist for that office as well, so you don’t forget! Here is a quick description of each task:
Double check that all applicable patients are on the No Show spreadsheet and the New Patient Referral Spreadsheet. Hopefully throughout the day, you have been adding patients who no show to their appointments to the No Show Spreadsheet, and you have added how brand new patients heard about our practice as they came in on the New Patient Referral Spreadsheet. But as you complete your closing tasks, double check that each no show and new patient has been properly documented, just in case one or two slipped by!
Print schedules for the next day. At the very end of the day, you will want to print the schedules for tomorrow (or the next day we are open at that office). You will need to print all schedules (including each doctor’s schedule, threshold, contact lens classes, dilation schedules, etc) to keep at the front desk, and then print TWO additional copies of each doctor’s schedule who is working at that location the next day. These additional copies will go in the lab, one for the OA and one for the doctor. If any changes are made after you print the schedules, you are welcome to simply write the additional appointments on each schedule.
Gather the lobby, bathroom, and PR area trash. While you won’t actually take the trash to the dumpsters outside until the very end of your shift, it is the PR team members responsibility to gather all of the garbage in the lobby, bathroom, and PR areas (like if there is a trash can under your desk, etc). Place all of the garbage by the back door, or under the front desk until you are ready to lock up the office.
Sanitize and restock the lobby/bathroom. Take just a few minutes at the end of the day to ensure that the lobby is tidy and clean, and using the designated sprays/wipes, clean any high surface areas and doorknobs. In the bathrooms, sanitize the doorknobs and surfaces, and make sure the toilet paper and paper towels are stocked. At the front desk, wipe down the desk and any surfaces the patients use regularly. Just a little quick cleaning goes a long way!
Double check the patient care email one last time. Make sure that there is nothing outstanding in the patient care email that you are leaving behind, and import any last minute forms that have come through. It’s important to ensure that all emails have been responded to or handled before you end your shift.
]Lock the door at closing time. If there are still patients in the lobby/office-that’s okay! You can still lock the door, just make sure you are available to help them out when they are finished, unless another team member tells you that they will take care of helping the patient exit.
Count the cash box. Try to save this task for the very last, as the last patients of the day might pay in cash still. To count the cash box, you will simply pull up the cash box spreadsheet, and add how many of each bill and coin you have in the spreadsheet.
Again, all of these tasks are quick and easy, but super important to ensure that the office is ready to go for patients tomorrow, and that all tasks assigned to you have been completed completely! Additional tasks may be added or taken away as needed with company policies.
phones closing responsibilities
Just like at the front desk, if you are in charge of answering phone calls, there are a few simple but important closing tasks to complete before you leave at the end of the day. There are not as many closing tasks as if you are working at the front desk, but that is also because the phone calls are still rolling in frequently. Here is a quick description of each task:
Double check that all vision benefits have been pulled/alert message’d for tomorrow’s appointments. Even if you had time earlier in the day and pulled any vision benefits for patients who were added, there may have been additional patients added over the course of the day. Make sure that you double check that each patient has an insurance related alert message in the last hour of the day.
Complete doctor start times. The next section of this module will go over all the information you need to know about doctor start times, but its important to wait to do this until the last hour of the day.
Gather the lobby, bathroom, and PR area trash. While you won’t actually take the trash to the dumpsters outside until the very end of your shift, it is the PR team members responsibility to gather all of the garbage in the lobby, bathroom, and PR areas (like if there is a trash can under your desk, etc). Place all of the garbage by the back door, or under the front desk until you are ready to lock up the office.
Sanitize and restock the bathroom. Take just a few minutes at the end of the day to ensure that the PR area is tidy and clean, and using the designated sprays/wipes, clean any high surface areas and doorknobs. In the bathrooms, sanitize the doorknobs and surfaces, and make sure the toilet paper and paper towels are stocked. Just a little quick cleaning goes a long way!
Turn the phones on DND at closing time. To “turn off” the phones at the end of your shift, simply press the DND button. Please note-patients might call the office at 4:59 and we close at 5pm. We ask that you answer that phone call, and don’t just let it go to voicemail—our patients expect that we are open every second up until closing time, and that is true! It most likely won’t take more than a couple minutes anyways to help them.
Again-quick and easy tasks, but important nonetheless. The last section in this module will go over how to complete doctor start times.
doctor start times
Our phenomenal doctors work at multiple locations on varying days of the week. Since we schedule our patients in real time, and at the very end of the work day we could add an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning, we send the doctors that are working the next day a quick text to let them know what their start time is at which office. This is incredibly helpful to the doctors, as they don’t all have immediate access to Eyecare from home. Once you have sent the doctor the text indicating which office and what time their first patient is at, you will add a note in the Daily Notes on that doctor’s schedule, indicating that you completed this.
Here is an example of a doctor start time text:
“Hello, Dr McClure, this is Raquel with your start time for tomorrow, June 28th. It is at 8am at the Westerville office, and its a contact lens check! See you then!”
Then you would add this note in the Dr McClure’s schedule for June 28th: “doc start time confirmed for 8am/text/ram”