‘Turn off that phone!’

We love text messaging and phone calls to our patients! But not so much among our staff. We asked several of our AADOM members to answer this hot-potato question:

How do you handle your team when excessive texting and phone calls are an issue? Is there an example you'd like to share?

Melanie Duncan: To text, or not to text that is the question? I love technology, but sometimes it can be a detriment to your team. Believe me I have seen it all! There is the hygienist who is texting while a patient watches a CAESY video or the team members have has to keep their phones on them in case of an emergency. Really? Are they trying to say that the front office team cannot handle passing on a message? The answers are simple:

• Make sure there is a policy in your employee manual that is clear and to the point.
• Have the employee sign an agreement to leave his or her phone in the break room.
• Expect 100 percent compliance!
• Each infraction should be a handled immediately with no exceptions allowed.

There will be a list of excuses, but as long as you are consistent with your actions, technology will once again be your friend.

Lisa Spradley: Our office allows cell phones and text messaging as long it does not interfere with our patient flow. However, when cell phones were first brought into the practice there were problems with rampant usage. We would have employees coming into the office with the cellphone to their ear and clocking in, and they would stay on the phone until they were ready to seat the patient. This was unacceptable.

After a discussion with the doctor, we decided that while we did not want to completely ban cell phones, we did need some basic guidelines. When employees come into the office and clock in, they should not be on their phones. Also - while texting in between patients is OK — it must not delay patients being seated or rooms being cleaned.

No one is allowed to be on their cell phone or texting if they have a patient in the room. These guidelines helped to keep our patients as the No. 1 focus in our practice.

Deanna Alexander: Simply put, it is stated in our office manual. No cell phones are allowed in our work area. Each staff member has his or her own personal cubby space in the staff lounge area, this is where the cell phones belong. Everyone respects this policy.

Tina Brown: Excessive phone calls and texting can be quite a problem. With new employees, we are very upfront with policies and guidelines. They tend to follow them for a while until the “newness” wears off. Our more seasoned team members, on occasion, can get caught up as well but gentle reminders in the very beginning of the occurrence with any team member usually helps.

Upon the second time I remind them again and let them know they are disrupting the flow of the day. I also ask if there is anything I can help them with so they can stay on task and suggest they save their calls and texts for their lunch hour or break.

If a third occurrence dares to happen they relinquish their phone for the rest of the day. It’s sad that sometimes it comes to that but I didn’t come up with the idea, they did!

When it became apparent there was an issue, I rallied the troops together and asked them to come up with a fair and reasonable penance.

They decided to give up their phones in lieu of documentation going into their employee file.

Julie McKee: Team morale is my top priority when implementing new policies and procedures. I do not enforce a policy that I have not researched and thought long and hard about. That being said, I have addressed this policy in a group/open-forum type setting so that I could share the reasoning behind the policy, and give them time to share how they feel as well. I maintain an open-door policy all the time and I want to know if and why they do not support a decision. This way I may be able to help them to understand the reasoning instead of having a ‘just do it’ attitude. That’s no fun.

Our policy — in a condensed version — states that any type of mobile device is not to be on your person in the clinical and business area. You may have your mobile in the break area or in your locker. The ringer must be set to vibrate if not turned off. All personal phone calls are not to be made during work hours, only on breaks and lunchtimes, unless of course it is an emergency. The staff is responsible for creating awareness of this policy to friends and family members.

I make sure the team knows that they are respected and this in no way implies that they would abuse company time, this is simply to prevent distractions for themselves and other co-workers, as well as to prevent the possible misconception that could arise from another person or patient viewing a team member on their cellphone for any reason. Why? The patients don’t know it’s your son telling you he will be going to his friend’s house after school, or that maybe a friend just told you a quick joke at which you giggle. In the minds of patients (or even co-workers), all they know is “She is not giving my time and care the attention and respect I deserve, how do I trust her in my mouth” or, “Is she laughing at me? My teeth? Is she filming this?” You name it, the patient will think of it.

Conclusion

As you can see, our members all have different techniques but are equally effective. It all boils down to a policy issue that must be stated ahead of time and communicated effectively to the team.

Take a look around your office and if you see someone texting or wasting time on the phone, begin to draw up your policy and plan its implementation. Remember — the patient’s perception is your reality!