Clinical Observation In Mental Health

Clinical Observation

My first clinical observation was at Penobscot Community Health Center in Bangor, Maine. Upon arrival, I met Angela O’Leary the practice manager. She gave me a short tour to the two suites where she said I would be observing. She was a very nice and pleasant woman. She made me feel very welcomed. I handed her some paperwork in order to observe for the practice. I first observed in Suite one, which was the Walk-in Care and Physical therapy office. There were two Patient Service Representatives. The practice had two mental health providers and two physical therapist on duty. It was a very busy Monday morning after Easter Sunday. I watched two medical assistants who were very busy calling patients in to exam rooms. I

There were three mental Health practitioners. Some personnel were counselors. There were two patient service representatives. They were very nice. I seemed to feel more comfortable in suite two. The patients were at check in for one-hour counseling sessions with counselors. It is difficult to understand the patients with mental health disorders. Other adults accompany some mental health patients. Patients came into the office to pick up prescription refills for the pharmacy on site. I observed a secretary faxing for release forms. I observed one secretary talking with a difficult patient over the phone. The patient wanted a refill of medication. The patient got very angry over the phone. Her medication said no refills. The patient needed to see the provider first. The secretary calmly repeated not being able to refill the patient’s medication. She remained in very good behavior. Patients can be on cancellation list if

I really enjoyed it there. The atmosphere was very welcoming. The staff were very pleasant. I met a girl who attended Eastern Maine Community College. She graduated with the Medical Office Technology degree. I observed a data entry analyst. She showed me how to put the data in the system. She showed me what kind of cases she worked on. She worked on the nursing home part of PCHC. The doctors do their own diagnosis codes. She makes sure the codes are correct. If the codes are not specific enough she will email the doctor. If the codes are not correct, the insurance will not cover. The observed the billing technicians. They were very busy accepting incoming and outgoing calls. They would post payments if patients called to pay their bill. The billing technicians took turns have an hour each of phone calls. Not everyone was expected to stop what he or she was doing. Each staff member worked in a specialty area. Medical records was also in the same building. There was staff who worked with patients who were self-pay and had no insurance. There were also specialist who worked with patient accounts who were insured by Maine Care, Medicare, and Medicare insurance. The supervisor was a coding auditor who manages the coding operation of the business. I would not prefer to work at the Penobscot Community Health Center Walk-in Care. I really enjoyed observing the data analyst position. I discovered the doctors