An Equitable Welcome: Education to the Front Office

Front office staff and non-HCPs are often left out of education that is aimed at improving knowledge, competence, and behavior related to implicit bias, equity, and disparities in health care. Front office staff are the first point of contact for patients whether it be scheduling an appointment, answering general questions, or checking in patients. Patient satisfaction and trust impact care, and the first interaction at a practice is often the most influential in their ongoing care journey.

To measure effects of education to front office staff and non-HCPs on patient satisfaction, our group developed medical education presented to nine cardiology clinics within a single health network. At six of those clinics, all staff will be required to complete the education, clinicians as well as front office staff. Acting as a comparator group, at three clinics, only clinicians will complete the education. Traditional pretest and posttest scores will be collected from learners. Additionally, clinics will provide de-identified patient satisfaction data that are collected as part of the medical health record before and after the education is deployed. Lastly, follow-up surveys will be disseminated at 30- and 60-day intervals to determine the long-term effects of the provided education for the staff and HCPs.

During the session, medical education providers will share the outcomes of the study, to determine effects of education to front office staff on implicit bias, equity, and disparities in health care on patient satisfaction. A supporter will join the panel to provide their perspective on the need and value of equity-focused education and the use of a control group.

The proposed session is aligned to member sections IACE, MEC, and Hospital and Health Systems. Results of the current initiative will inform the feasibility of instituting educational interventions to front office staff at other health systems, in cardiology as well as other clinics where disparities in care persist.