Clip and Copy: Updating patient information

When an established patient comes in and you haven't seen her in more than a year, have your front desk personnel give her the sheet available as a PDF file at http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=150553, along with any other paperwork she needs to complete. Or, better yet, right after she makes the appointment, mail her the forms, along with a cover letter instructing her to complete them and bring them with her on the day of her appointment.

"Patient health, marital, and employment status-as well as insurance coverage-often change over time," says Mike Martin, president of Practice Support Resources (PSR), an Independence, MO-based publisher and bookstore for healthcare professionals. "It's important that your records reflect patients' evolving health history and that your billing staffers have each person's current contact and health insurance information to help them collect payment."

The update sheet is adapted from PSR's Forms & Letters for Medical Office Efficiency. To order that booklet, as well as other PSR publications, call 800-967-7790 or go to http://www.practicesupport.com