Deck 9: Telephone Techniques

Question 1

Phone and message records can be used in court.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

If a caller refuses to identify himself or herself, the medical assistant can put the call through to the physician right then.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

It is important that the medical assistant stay in control of incoming calls.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

New York falls in the Eastern time zone.

Question 5

The mouthpiece should be 3 three inches away from the mouth when the medical assistant is talking into the telephone.

Question 6

A provider can only be a company that provides medical equipment or services to patients.

Question 7

The medical assistant should always ask permission before placing a caller on hold.

Question 8

Wyoming falls in the Central time zone.

Question 9

The medical assistant should use medical jargon with patients and lay terms with physicians and other medical personnel.

Question 10

Most physicians do not expect the medical assistant to screen calls.

Question 11

If a patient wants to hold to speak to a certain staff member, the medical assistant does not have to return to the phone at all during the wait time.

Question 12

Direct calls are more expensive than operator-assisted calls.

Question 13

All sales calls are an interruption to the physician's day.

Question 14

The medical assistant should speak at a moderate pace when talking with patients on the telephone.

Question 15

It is a good practice to write the patient's name onto a message form when the conversation begins so that the medical assistant can reference who is calling without having to ask again for the patient's name.

Question 16

A person speaking in a monotone uses no inflection to emphasize important points.

Question 17

STAT means "as soon as possible."

Question 18

A patient must give oral permission before a member of the physician's staff can give information to third-party callers.

Question 19

Patients should always be given an exact time that the physician will return a call.

Question 20

Placing and receiving personal calls should be avoided during business hours.

Question 21

Office staff members are not obligated to contact an insurance company about a denied claim on the patient's behalf.

Question 22

If a patient calls the office and states that his or her condition has not improved since the office visit earlier in the week, the medical assistant can suggest over-the-counter medications that the patient could try.

Question 23

If your office is in New York and you need to contact a supplier in Seattle, which New York time would be the earliest that you should call to place an order, assuming that the supplier opens at 8 AM?

A)8 AM
B)9 AM
C)10 AM
D)11 AM

Question 24

The medical assistant can refer patients to an Internet map if they call for directions to the physician's office.

Question 25

If a patient's HIV test result is positive, the medical assistant can give the patient the result on the phone, because the patient is aware that the test was performed.

Question 26

The technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a particular group is called:

A)salutation
B)monotone
C)jargon
D)enunciation

Question 27

A telephone call that is operator assisted or electronically assisted and includes several physicians at separate offices is a(n) _____ call.

A)conference
B)message unit
C)international
D)referenced

Question 28

Transferring a call to a staff member without announcing the caller's name is considered unprofessional.

Question 29

A method of selecting the order in which patients receive medical treatment often is referred to as:

A)screening
B)selection
C)streamlining
D)matrixing

Question 30

Which of the following greetings is recommended as appropriate for handling incoming calls in an extremely busy medical office?

A)"Good morning.This is Dr.Bewell's office.Ms.Blakely speaking."
B)"Dr.Bewell's office.Ms.Blakely speaking."
C)"Thank you for calling Dr.Bewell's office.This is Tina."
D)"Dr.Bewell's office."

Question 31

The medical assistant should never argue with a patient on the telephone or attempt to place blame on the patient's actions when a disagreement arises.

Question 32

Active listening involves:

A)giving the same attention to a person on the phone as would be given to a person face to face
B)concentrating on the conversation at hand
C)discovering vital information
D)all of the above

Question 33

The medical assistant should never give patients an estimate of what the cost of their visit will be, even on the initial visit.

Question 34

Which of the following types of communication tools can be used to record verbal messages?

A)Voice mail
B)Fax
C)E-mail
D)Call waiting

Question 35

Which of the following can be used to keep a record of incoming telephone calls so that no message is overlooked?

A)Conference call
B)Pager
C)Telephone log
D)Voice mail

Question 36

Which of the following types of communication tools is best for two-way communication?

A)Voice mail
B)Fax
C)Beeper
D)Cell phone

Question 37

The fewer times a call is transferred, the happier the patient.

Question 38

Managed care organizations usually require a referral to a specialist.

Question 39

Which of the following best describes the primary goal of "screening" telephone calls?

A)Preventing calls from reaching the physician
B)Handling calls at the lowest level possible
C)Selecting which calls should be forwarded to which staff members through an understanding of the purpose of the call
D)Determining whether the calls are emergencies

Question 40

Complaints about fees must always be directed to the office manager.

Question 41

Which of the following would be considered professional jargon?

A)Encephalalgia
B)Backache
C)Earache
D)Headache

Question 42

If your office is in California and it is noon, what time is it on the East Coast?

A)8 AM
B)9 AM
C)3 PM
D)4 PM

Question 43

The medical assistant may help an angry caller to calm down by:

A)speaking in a lower tone of voice
B)getting angry in return
C)passing the situation off to the office manager immediately
D)calling the physician into the situation

Question 44

Enunciation is:

A)the choice of words
B)the highness or lowness of sound
C)articulation of clear sounds
D)a change in pitch

Question 45

If your office is on the West Coast, what time is the latest time to call the East Coast?

A)11 AM
B)1 PM
C)2 PM
D)4 PM

Question 46

Federal, state, county, and city government pages are often organized in telephone directories as the _____ pages.

A)yellow
B)white
C)blue
D)orange

Question 47

When a patient calls with a complaint:

A)use an approach similar to that for angry callers
B)find the source of the problem
C)present options of solutions to the patient
D)all of the above

Question 48

The mouthpiece of the telephone handset should be held:

A)below the chin
B)three fingers from the lips
C)1 inch from the chin
D)1 inch from the lips

Question 49

Which of the following types of calls should be limited in the professional setting?

A)Local
B)Long distance
C)Toll free
D)Personal

Question 50

Which of the following procedures is not correct with regard to calling a pharmacy with a prescription?

A)Verifying that the pharmacy staff member took down the prescription accurately
B)Noting on the chart the time and date the prescription was called in to the pharmacy
C)Transcribing the information correctly when writing it down
D)Calling in the prescription before verifying it with the physician

Question 51

Which of the following is not correct with regard to ending a call?

A)Closing the conversation with some form of "goodbye"
B)Hanging up before the caller
C)Discouraging inappropriate chatting
D)Thanking the person for calling

Question 52

Which of the following is not important when taking incoming calls at the physician's office?

A)Answering the phone promptly
B)Getting off the phone in less than 2 minutes
C)Identifying the caller
D)Minimizing wait time

Question 53

Diction is:

A)the choice of words with regard to clearness
B)the highness or lowness of sound
C)the quality of being clear
D)a change in pitch

Question 54

Which of the following are common sources of incoming calls to the physician's office?

A)Other physicians
B)New patients
C)Laboratories
D)All of the above

Question 55

Inflection is:

A)the choice of words
B)the highness or lowness of sound
C)the quality of being clear
D)a change in pitch

Question 56

Which of the following is not required when a telephone message is taken?

A)The caller's name and phone number
B)The time and date
C)The name of the person to whom the call is directed
D)The caller's account number

Question 57

The medical assistant should be extremely careful when using a speakerphone because:

A)the service is expensive
B)it is distracting
C)the call can be traced
D)confidentiality can be violated

Question 58

A pleasing telephone voice is developed by using:

A)customer service
B)a monotone
C)clarity
D)professional jargon

Question 59

Pitch is:

A)the choice of words
B)the highness or lowness of sound
C)the quality of being clear
D)a change in pitch

Question 60

What information should the medical assistant get from patients when they request a prescription?

A)The patient's last diagnosis
B)The patient's last laboratory results
C)Treatments the patient has tried
D)The patient's medical history

Question 61

A(n) __________ used in a phone greeting would include "Good morning" or "Good afternoon."

Question 62

Many __________ calls require the good judgment of the medical assistant answering the phone.

Question 63

The practice's __________ is developed in part from the physician's reasons for entering the medical field.

Question 64

Some managed care organizations require a physician __________ before a patient may see a specialist.

Question 65

The continental United States is divided into __________ standard time zones.

Question 66

Legible and complete phone messages are vital, because they can be brought into __________ and offered as evidence.

Question 67

The office should have a clear set of __________ to the facility available so that they can be easily given to patients who request them.

Question 68

Callers who refuse to __________ themselves should not be put through to the physician.

Question 69

A computerized appointment system often is able to __________ a message to highlight its importance.

Question 70

To foster growth is to __________.

Question 71

Having a keen sense of what to do or say to maintain good relations with others is called __________.

Question 72

A minimum of __________ items of information is needed to take a phone message correctly.

Question 73

Performing many tasks at the same time is called __________.

Question 74

__________ of all employees enables each staff member to take an accurate telephone message.

Question 75

An alternative to using directory assistance is using the __________ to find phone numbers.

Question 76

Answering services usually provide a(n) __________ to answer the phone rather than a recording device.

Question 77

When dealing with an emergency call, the medical assistant should never __________ until help has reached the patient.

Question 78

Message books should be kept in the medical office at least until the __________ runs out.

Question 79

Call __________ allows the user to send calls to another designated number, such as a cell phone.

Question 80

Patients often call the office to find out whether the physician is a(n) __________ for their insurance program.