Medical Receptionist

Some receptionists are retired nurses. I'm lucky enough to have one at my doctor's surgery. She doesn't give advice but does ask what's wrong so she can get the most serious on the list treated first.

We are advised that our receptionists will screen patients and will ask medical questions.

It's beyond their remit imo.

I wondered if the doctors had instructed the receptionists to give advice about simple procedures. The advice about instilling olive oil in ear was reasonable.

It was unnecessary for the receptionist to advise me about use of eye drops as all I had asked her was whether I needed to make a telephone appointment with the doctor to increase the amount prescribed. I had not asked for a lecture on how not to waste the eye drops.

You do realise that it’s the receptionists that probably do all of your repeat prescriptions etc. All the doctors do are speak to you at your appointment and add any information onto the computer, look at medication reviews ( that have been sent to them by said receptionist) and look at any B/T results. Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything.

Waste costs the NHS billions a year.

You do realise that it’s the receptionists that probably do all of your repeat prescriptions etc
That's not advice, though.

We have a dedicated prescription clerk who does repeats at our surgery. I spoke to her for the first time yesterday and she was very helpful.

I was at doctor’s today - actually in person! Whilst waiting at reception an elderly man couldn’t hear through masks and screens, so receptionist came out.

It transpired he was asking for a GP appt. but she proceeded, in the public corridor, with me as a bystander, to question the man about reason for appt. He then had to go into detail about his bladder and prostate problems.

There is a notice saying the receptionists can ask reason for requesting GP appt, which is reasonable, but I think in this case it was a breach of confidentiality because it was done in a public area, rather than somewhere more discreet.

Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything

Surely they don't dispense medication?
A qualified pharmacist has to do that. Even if his/her assistants make up the medications, it has to be checked by a pharmacist.

I think they have a lot to put up with. I have just ordered repeat prescriptions (online), and saw that one item was not available, so sent a message asking why I couldn't have it, as it was due. As soon as I pressed 'send', I realised that we are still in January, not February as I'd been thinking. I immediately sent another message apologising, but if I hadn't realised it would have fallen to the receptionist to call me and say I couldn't have the drugs I thought I needed and had been made unavailable.

However. I really do think that there should be much tighter training about confidentiality. Not just in GP surgeries, but in hospitals, where they are often worse, in my experience. They often shout out names, dates of birth, addresses etc in front of others in the waiting room, and the safety glass (which I understand they may need) means that older people in particular often get fairly private details discussed loudly enough for others to hear. Now that so much is done by phone, I have had several calls when I've been on a bus, or in company, and have had to cut them short when they've launched into a conversation that I didn't want to have in front of others.

A quick 'is this convenient' before starting the conversation would go a long way.

As a previous doctors' receptionist we were told to advise patients to put oil in their ears and were not allowed to make the appointment until the required number of days for putting in the oil had passed. If a patient turned up for an ear syringe without having done this the wax could be so impacted that it would be impossible to remove and could in fact damage the ear drum should it be attempted.
Therefore practices allowing receptionists to give this advice saves a potential waste of everyone's time.

Fleurpepper

You told the GP exactly what you wanted? Really?

Really! And got it! And that's at a private consultancy.

Callistemon21

^Oh and they double check any medication that has been dispensed by the receptionist, too. It’s a pretty thankless job a lot of the time because they then get the blame for everything^

Surely they don't dispense medication?
A qualified pharmacist has to do that. Even if his/her assistants make up the medications, it has to be checked by a pharmacist.

The doctor double checks the prescription. If it’s done at a pharmacy then someone will dispense it and it will be checked by the pharmacist. If you look at the label on the prescription there is a little box with two signatures on it, the dispenser and the doctor or pharmacist. The dispenser will have done a course in dispensing. We always told patients that, if the thought that something wasn’t right about a prescription they must query it as mistakes can be made and every mistake has to be recorded.

All I had asked for was how to request an increase in medication. The practice's online service does not tell patients which of the practice personel is the one to ask. The receptionist can advise how to ask for medical/pharmacological advice. I thought it was a simple task for the receptionist to tell me who to make the appointment with.

But instead she instructed me how to use eyedrops. Bad communication such as this can make patients distrustful of the practice.

PS she also quizzed me about why I thought I needed more eye drops, how often I used the eye drops, and when I used them.

I am currently quite an easy patient and need very little medical care. However I will become more reliant on the surgery the longer I live, and I'm fearful that I will have to justify my query to the the receptionist when I make a simple request for information.

It was unnecessary for the receptionist to advise me about use of eye drops as all I had asked her was whether I needed to make a telephone appointment with the doctor to increase the amount prescribed. I had not asked for a lecture on how not to waste the eye drops.

I don't suppose anyone asks for lectures about not wasting eye-drops but the receptionist may have been advised to describe an efficient way of usung eye drops because the doctor or pharmacist thought they were being used up too quickly on many occasions. This may not have applied to you, caleo, but the receptionist won't have known that. This is just me surmising anyhow.

I once got ticked off by my GP because I'd got rid of some medication that had been prescribed for one of my daughters. I replied that I'd kept it until it was well past its expiry date.

Receptionist are empowered to triage when necessary, and receptionists are empowered to steer patients to the appropriate member of staff: doctor, pharmacist, health care assistant, practitioner nurse, practice manager.

Receptionists should not require patients to justify requests for help and advice.

she also quizzed me about why I thought I needed more eye drops, how often I used the eye drops, and when I used them.

Could this not have been so that she could report the information back to the GP? Part of the triage process?

I do get your point(s), caleo.

How did you 'get rid' Baggs? That was probably the issue.

I make friends with the receptionists at our practice as it does pay dividends whe I want an emergency appointment. After all they are on the front line doing a difficult job.

I honestly can't remember, FP. But if my method had been the issue he should have told me. One can't know what someone else is thinking if they don't tell one.

But, tbh, I think it was because it was an expensive anti-migraine therapy. I seem to remember the whole prescription was only a very few tablets (fewer than five or six).

We had only used one or two and they didn't work.

dragonfly46

I make friends with the receptionists at our practice as it does pay dividends whe I want an emergency appointment. After all they are on the front line doing a difficult job.

Hear, hear!

Lots of medication is no longer on prescription. I was surprised that I can still request dry eye gel but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’ll not last long. One bottle should last a month but if I use eg hypromellose it goes everywhere but my eye; viscotears is much easier to apply.

Baggs

dragonfly46

I make friends with the receptionists at our practice as it does pay dividends whe I want an emergency appointment. After all they are on the front line doing a difficult job.

Hear, hear!

Yes, a couple or three of ours are great.
However, it's difficult to be friendly with one or two as even being pleasant elicits a snappy, defensive response.

Caleo

Receptionist are empowered to triage when necessary, and receptionists are empowered to steer patients to the appropriate member of staff: doctor, pharmacist, health care assistant, practitioner nurse, practice manager.

Receptionists should not require patients to justify requests for help and advice.

I don’t mind receptionists asking why an appt is necessary, and steering to correct professional.
What I object to is being asked about symptoms, some of which may be personal, and/or embarrassing in sight and sound of the waiting room.

MayBee70 I buy viscotears, haven’t been able to get them on prescription for years.