How to optimize patient admission in your medical practice
Regardless of whether you are a general practitioner or a dentist, every treatment begins with patient admission to the practice. But how is this process organized and are there any legal requirements to be observed? Here you will find practical tips for patient admission, including a checklist with all the important components.
What is patient intake in the doctor's office?
The purpose of admitting a patient is to clarify preparatory measures and obtain personal data before actual physician treatment. What complaints do the patients have? Is medication already being taken? And are all the necessary consent forms available? In addition, cost issues such as treatment contracts, any co-payments or optional services, and questions relevant to data protection can be clarified at the reception desk.
Patient intake at the doctor's office is often the first personal experience patients have in your practice. The entire subsequent interaction is shaped by this first point of contact. It prepares the case history and lays the foundation for successful doctor-patient communication. This makes it all the more important to pay special attention to this starting point when admitting a patient.
What data is collected during patient admission?
When admitting a patient, you should usually collect the following information:
- Medical history including name, address, contact information, medications, allergies, and medical history.
- Insurance status
- Payment information
- Treatment contract for private patients
The process flow of a patient admission
The patient admission process usually begins with an initial admission form or a medical history form for existing patients. This is used to collect all data required for treatment as well as inquiries relevant to data protection. Since many medical practices still collect data in the traditional way using a clipboard and pen, you or your practice team must then transfer the information to your patients' digital patient files via your practice management system. This process in particular is tedious and time-consuming in everyday practice: The forms are not completely filled out, signatures are missing, the writing is illegible and transmission errors are inevitable.
The initial admission form and all other documents created during the patient admission process are then archived using a paper filing system. Usually, these documents are also digitized with the help of a scanner - and the paper is never used again.
In the final step, doctors discuss the information on the medical history form as well as any allergies, illnesses and medications with their patients in a personal consultation. This is where the problem of paper questionnaires becomes apparent from the patient's point of view: If you as a physician do not have time to review the questionnaire before the patient interview, the questions are often gone through repeatedly. The result: your patients get the impression that they have answered them unnecessarily.
What is digital patient imaging?
Digital patient admission digitizes the process flow of patient admission. From their smartphone, patients can fill out and sign all important documents - and even do so from the comfort of their own home before visiting the practice!
Tip: Would you like to make the patient admission process in your medical practice easier and faster? Nelly helps you save time in this process and also reduces your paper consumption by up to 80 percent.
Admitting patients properly: A checklist
Patient intake is an important part of your practice operations, and many details are even required by law. So what does it include? Our checklist for patient admission for dentists and general practitioners will tell you.
1. the anamnesis
In general, you should always record the master data of your patients. Nowadays, this includes not only the name, address and contact information, but also information on medications, allergies and medical history. General practitioners can ask for the medical history orally and document it during the consultation. Dentists, on the other hand, are required to fill out a medical history form.
Tip: The medical history is obligatory for the dentist - but not for patients. However, if you consider the information essential for treatment, you can refuse to provide it.
For all medically relevant information, it is worth visiting the pages of the associations of panel doctors or chambers of the respective professional groups. Here, templates for medical history forms are usually provided free of charge.
Ideally, your patients should also carry a medication schedule and an allergy passport. Allergists, general practitioners and gynecologists should also remind their patients of their vaccination record before visiting the practice. If you run a dental practice, you can also remind patients of their bonus booklet.
Tip: According to the Patients' Rights Act, you should check the medical history data regularly and always keep it up to date. This is because previous information can be outdated and new, important information can easily be overlooked.
2. privacy policy
Managing and using medical data is very precisely regulated in Germany. The KBV provides a good overview of the topics "Collection of personal data", "Data protection for the practice" and "Cooperation with service providers" on its website. Not only does it explain exactly what to look out for, but it also provides sample copies that work across disciplines.
3. insured status
Querying the status of the insured person is a standard part of the patient admission process. In the area of statutory health insurance, doctors are even obliged to read the health insurance card according to the regulation of § 294 SGB V.
4. assignment of invoice
If your practice also bills or forwards invoices to a billing service for review, you're probably familiar with these slips. In any case, you get them from your biller and billing service.
Tip: Nelly offers you an alternative to billing that will save any practice not only time, but money, while improving the experience of your patients' office visit.
5. Third-party supplier
If you work with companies such as Doctolib, they sometimes require patients to give their consent to contact them or to use certain data. In case of doubt, it is worth asking the respective company directly.
6. documentation obligation
According to Section 630 f of the German Patients' Rights Act, physicians must keep the patient file and all documents collected in this context for at least ten years. Unfortunately, this documentation obligation costs a lot of time in everyday life. With a digital solution like Nelly, you can save yourself this effort.
Digital patient recording with Nelly
On average, physicians have 8 minutes to talk to their patients. Due to this fact, it is often a challenge for you and your practice team to collect all important information for a successful treatment. In addition, time-consuming tasks such as scanning and archiving the necessary documents delay the day-to-day running of the practice.
For these problems, there is Nelly: Nelly digitizes the entire patient intake process in your medical practice and manages the associated paperwork directly online. This makes printed medical history forms, paper documentation or even chasing signatures a thing of the past.
Check-in comfortably from home thanks to Nelly
With Nelly, patient intake at the doctor's office can even take place before the actual patient visit. With one click, you simply send your patients a link to the digital medical history form. All necessary forms can be filled out directly from your patients' smartphone, conveniently from home or in the doctor's office. A subsequent DSGVO-compliant digital signature completes the process.
The advantage: as a doctor, you receive a detailed preliminary medical history with all the necessary details about your patients before the patient consultation. This not only saves you and your staff time, resources and costs, but also protects the environment: with Nelly, you use 80 percent less paper, save up to 90 minutes a day and reduce your payment fees by up to 30 percent. Sounds good? Then digitize your medical practice with Nelly now! We will advise you on your individual case free of charge and without obligation!
The personal designations used in this article always refer equally to all persons. For the sake of better readability, we have refrained from using double or opposite names.
What is patient intake in the doctor's office?
The purpose of admitting a patient is to clarify preparatory measures and obtain personal data before actual physician treatment. What complaints do the patients have? Is medication already being taken? And are all the necessary consent forms available? In addition, cost issues such as treatment contracts, any co-payments or optional services, and questions relevant to data protection can be clarified at the reception desk.
Patient intake at the doctor's office is often the first personal experience patients have in your practice. The entire subsequent interaction is shaped by this first point of contact. It prepares the case history and lays the foundation for successful doctor-patient communication. This makes it all the more important to pay special attention to this starting point when admitting a patient.
What data is collected during patient admission?
When admitting a patient, you should usually collect the following information:
- Medical history including name, address, contact information, medications, allergies, and medical history.
- Insurance status
- Payment information
- Treatment contract for private patients
The process flow of a patient admission
The patient admission process usually begins with an initial admission form or a medical history form for existing patients. This is used to collect all data required for treatment as well as inquiries relevant to data protection. Since many medical practices still collect data in the traditional way using a clipboard and pen, you or your practice team must then transfer the information to your patients' digital patient files via your practice management system. This process in particular is tedious and time-consuming in everyday practice: The forms are not completely filled out, signatures are missing, the writing is illegible and transmission errors are inevitable.
The initial admission form and all other documents created during the patient admission process are then archived using a paper filing system. Usually, these documents are also digitized with the help of a scanner - and the paper is never used again.
In the final step, doctors discuss the information on the medical history form as well as any allergies, illnesses and medications with their patients in a personal consultation. This is where the problem of paper questionnaires becomes apparent from the patient's point of view: If you as a physician do not have time to review the questionnaire before the patient interview, the questions are often gone through repeatedly. The result: your patients get the impression that they have answered them unnecessarily.
What is digital patient imaging?
Digital patient admission digitizes the process flow of patient admission. From their smartphone, patients can fill out and sign all important documents - and even do so from the comfort of their own home before visiting the practice!
Tip: Would you like to make the patient admission process in your medical practice easier and faster? Nelly helps you save time in this process and also reduces your paper consumption by up to 80 percent.
Admitting patients properly: A checklist
Patient intake is an important part of your practice operations, and many details are even required by law. So what does it include? Our checklist for patient admission for dentists and general practitioners will tell you.
1. the anamnesis
In general, you should always record the master data of your patients. Nowadays, this includes not only the name, address and contact information, but also information on medications, allergies and medical history. General practitioners can ask for the medical history orally and document it during the consultation. Dentists, on the other hand, are required to fill out a medical history form.
Tip: The medical history is obligatory for the dentist - but not for patients. However, if you consider the information essential for treatment, you can refuse to provide it.
For all medically relevant information, it is worth visiting the pages of the associations of panel doctors or chambers of the respective professional groups. Here, templates for medical history forms are usually provided free of charge.
Ideally, your patients should also carry a medication schedule and an allergy passport. Allergists, general practitioners and gynecologists should also remind their patients of their vaccination record before visiting the practice. If you run a dental practice, you can also remind patients of their bonus booklet.
Tip: According to the Patients' Rights Act, you should check the medical history data regularly and always keep it up to date. This is because previous information can be outdated and new, important information can easily be overlooked.
2. privacy policy
Managing and using medical data is very precisely regulated in Germany. The KBV provides a good overview of the topics "Collection of personal data", "Data protection for the practice" and "Cooperation with service providers" on its website. Not only does it explain exactly what to look out for, but it also provides sample copies that work across disciplines.
3. insured status
Querying the status of the insured person is a standard part of the patient admission process. In the area of statutory health insurance, doctors are even obliged to read the health insurance card according to the regulation of § 294 SGB V.
4. assignment of invoice
If your practice also bills or forwards invoices to a billing service for review, you're probably familiar with these slips. In any case, you get them from your biller and billing service.
Tip: Nelly offers you an alternative to billing that will save any practice not only time, but money, while improving the experience of your patients' office visit.
5. Third-party supplier
If you work with companies such as Doctolib, they sometimes require patients to give their consent to contact them or to use certain data. In case of doubt, it is worth asking the respective company directly.
6. documentation obligation
According to Section 630 f of the German Patients' Rights Act, physicians must keep the patient file and all documents collected in this context for at least ten years. Unfortunately, this documentation obligation costs a lot of time in everyday life. With a digital solution like Nelly, you can save yourself this effort.
Digital patient recording with Nelly
On average, physicians have 8 minutes to talk to their patients. Due to this fact, it is often a challenge for you and your practice team to collect all important information for a successful treatment. In addition, time-consuming tasks such as scanning and archiving the necessary documents delay the day-to-day running of the practice.
For these problems, there is Nelly: Nelly digitizes the entire patient intake process in your medical practice and manages the associated paperwork directly online. This makes printed medical history forms, paper documentation or even chasing signatures a thing of the past.
Check-in comfortably from home thanks to Nelly
With Nelly, patient intake at the doctor's office can even take place before the actual patient visit. With one click, you simply send your patients a link to the digital medical history form. All necessary forms can be filled out directly from your patients' smartphone, conveniently from home or in the doctor's office. A subsequent DSGVO-compliant digital signature completes the process.
The advantage: as a doctor, you receive a detailed preliminary medical history with all the necessary details about your patients before the patient consultation. This not only saves you and your staff time, resources and costs, but also protects the environment: with Nelly, you use 80 percent less paper, save up to 90 minutes a day and reduce your payment fees by up to 30 percent. Sounds good? Then digitize your medical practice with Nelly now! We will advise you on your individual case free of charge and without obligation!
The personal designations used in this article always refer equally to all persons. For the sake of better readability, we have refrained from using double or opposite names.
Maria Brütting
Author
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