Course Description: When first impressions are lasting, know that the behavior of the front desk staff has a direct impact on the patient experience and the center's profitability. The front desk is a very important facet of the center, and a friendly and efficient front desk staff leaves a positive impact on patients. Front desk staff is the first and last impression a patient has of the center and can make a huge difference in patient retention rate and new patient referrals. Learn what it takes to effectively work with staff, utilizing training, policies and procedures to optimize staff operations and flow while creating a positive experience for the patient.

Speaker: Letitia Patterson, MPA, RHIA, CCS-P, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I has been in the complex and evolving healthcare industry for 23 years. Throughout her career, she has refined her expertise in the areas of practice management, training, consulting, auditing, medical billing and reimbursement, and diagnostic and procedural coding. She has performed audits and education for approximately 20 urgent care centers including audits for Medicare and Medicaid, commercial insurances and the OIG. Letitia is a regular speaker for the medical coding community, is an adjunct faculty member for several online/on ground coding and billing programs and has been a panel expert for ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals magazine. Letitia is also a regular reviewer for medical coding textbooks. In addition, Letitia founded the Chicago-Southeast Local Chapter of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) in 2003, held the role of president for a number of years and is still an active member. Letitia holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Health Care. She is also a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) Certified Coding Specialist – Physician Based (CCS-P), Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA), Certified Professional Coder – Instructor (CPC-I).

1 Credit UCMC – Operations

Designation Statement

The Urgent Care Association of America designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Accreditation Statement

The Urgent Care Association of America is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Submitting for Credit:

If you would like to submit for credit above, you complete the 5 question knowledge test and answer 3 out of 5 correctly. Your certificate will be available under My Credits in your UCAOA profile and your credit will be placed in your profile under “Professional Development” of click on “My Credits”.

Please email education@ucaoa.org with questions.