With the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic lessening in Canada, the country is gradually reopening many non-essential businesses and services, including certain medical offices that may have shut or scaled back non-emergency care during the lockdown.Â
If you work in a medical office after your administration training, you’ll want to understand how to do so while keeping yourself and others safe. With this in mind, it’s helpful to fully understand the steps healthcare staff need to take to ensure reopened medical offices are not only fully operational, but as safe as possible for clients and staff. Keep reading to learn more.
Take a Staggered Approach to Reopening Certain Services at Your Office
Even though the influence of the virus is starting to wane in Canada, it remains to be seen when or if a vaccine will be widely available, or if a second wave will hit in the coming months. In the meantime, reopening medical offices gradually and carefully is the safest course of action.Â
For example, you can continue to give clients the option to have virtual appointments over platforms such as Zoom, particularly if they are exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus. In other cases, you can allow in-person appointments to resume provided you screen clients beforehand, you have the approval of authorities, and the impact of the virus in your area is negligible enough to allow it. Fully reopening in one fell swoop can be risky, so be sure your approach is one that is incremental in nature.
Make Sure Your Office is Disinfected and Safe for Clients to Enter Again
This goes without saying for any medical office administration training graduate, but one of the first things you’ll need to do is make sure the office is properly disinfected and set up in a way that is safe for clients.Â
Doing this involves taking all of the necessary sanitary precautions, such as disinfecting all areas of the office — especially frequently-touched ones — and reminding clients to wash their hands and wear masks before entering.Â
It would also be wise to have hand sanitizer available for clients to use right at the front entrance and in other areas of the office. Other strategies involve removing high-touch items from waiting rooms, using equipment and furniture that can be cleaned easily, and encouraging clients to pay using tap on card machines. For staff who deal directly with clients, make sure plexiglass barriers are set up, and PPE is worn at all times.
Maintain Physical Distancing After Your Medical Office Administration TrainingÂ
Although you would hope this won’t be an issue once the virus has fully blown over, physical distancing remains part of our reality. Therefore, if clients come to your office in person after medical office administration school, you must continue to emphasize the importance of making sure physical distancing guidelines are respected at your practice.Â
For example, placing tape on the floor of the office to show clients where to stand is a good idea, as is limiting the capacity of waiting rooms to allow for ample sitting room between clients.Â
You can also have some employees work from home while others work at the office, in order to limit contact between your colleagues. In any case, taking any and all measures to mitigate the spread of the virus will help you reopen your medical office in the smoothest possible fashion.
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