Reference check questions for medical receptionists

The front desk is where a patient’s visit starts, and where many of a practice’s problems start too. A visit booked as the wrong type or length throws off a provider’s day. An insurance card that was never updated becomes a denied claim weeks later. A name and a reason for the visit spoken too loudly in a full waiting room is a privacy problem, and a caller who describes chest pain to someone who books them for next week is a safety one.

A friendly candidate interviews well, and the job does reward friendliness. References can tell you what friendliness does not: whether the candidate’s registrations were accurate, whether their cash drawer balanced, how they handled a caller asking about someone else’s appointment and what they did when a patient at the desk looked seriously unwell.

Who to ask

• The practice manager or front desk lead, who saw the candidate’s scheduling, registrations, collections and cash drawer.
• A provider or nurse who relied on the candidate’s schedule and messages, for accuracy and how calls reached clinical staff.
• Someone from billing, if the role includes insurance verification, for how often claim problems traced back to the desk.
• For a candidate new to health care, a supervisor from their last front desk or customer service job, for the phones, the line and difficult conversations.

Questions to ask, by competency

Choose the competencies that matter most for the position and two or three questions from each. Ask every reference the same set, and when an answer is a rating, ask for the example behind it.

Patient privacy at the desk

HHS says a practice may call out patient names and use a sign-in sheet as long as the information disclosed is appropriately limited. Whether it stays limited, at the desk and on the phone, depends largely on the receptionist’s habits.

1. How did the candidate confirm a caller’s identity before discussing an appointment or a bill? Did they ever give information to the wrong person?
2. How did the candidate handle a relative or an employer who called asking about a patient?
3. At a crowded desk, how did the candidate keep conversations about insurance or the reason for a visit from being overheard?

Scheduling and the phones

The schedule is the practice’s capacity. The wrong visit type, length or provider wastes slots, and a symptom described on the phone has to reach clinical staff quickly.

1. How accurate was the candidate’s scheduling: the right visit type, length and provider? What happened when they booked one wrong?
2. When a caller described symptoms, what did the candidate do? Did they ever offer advice instead of putting the call through to clinical staff?
3. How did the candidate manage the phones and a line at the desk at the same time on your busiest mornings?

Registration, insurance and payments

A misspelled name, a wrong date of birth or an old insurance card at check-in turns into a denied claim later. The desk also handles copays and cash.

1. How carefully did the candidate collect and update insurance details at check-in? Did denied claims trace back to their entries?
2. Did the candidate collect copays reliably, and did their cash drawer balance at the end of the day?
3. How would you rate the accuracy of the candidate’s registrations, compared with others who have worked your front desk? (rating)

Patients under stress

Patients arrive sick, worried, late or upset about a bill, and the receptionist sets the tone of the visit before anyone clinical sees them.

1. Describe the hardest conversation you saw the candidate handle at the desk. What did they say, and how did it end?
2. What did the candidate do when someone at the desk looked seriously unwell?

Close the reference

End every reference the same way: ask whether they would hire or work with the candidate again and why, what support would help the candidate do their best work, and whether there is anything else you should know. The general question bank explains why the first of these matters most.

Checks a reference does not replace

• The federal exclusion list. The HHS Office of Inspector General’s guidance says the federal payment ban on excluded people reaches administrative and management services, not only patient care, with examples that include billing and a physician practice office manager. Screen front desk staff against the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities as you would clinical staff.
• Your own privacy training. A reference can tell you how the candidate handled patient information, but it cannot stand in for training. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires a covered entity to train each new member of its workforce on its privacy policies within a reasonable period after they join.
• A background check, if you run one through a third party, for example because the role handles payments. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance explains an employer’s obligations when it uses consumer reports.

Warning signs to follow up

• References call the candidate friendly but cannot speak to the accuracy of their scheduling or registrations.
• Any mention of patient information given to the wrong person, discussed in the waiting room or left on a screen others could see.
• Cash drawer shortages that were never explained.
• The candidate gave callers medical advice, or decided on their own that a symptom could wait.

One warning sign is a reason to ask another question, not a verdict. Reference check red flags covers how to check a concern fairly.

Questions to leave out

Ask only about the work. Before an offer, the EEOC’s guidance says an employer may not ask a third party, such as a former employer, any question it could not ask the candidate directly. Leave out health, medical leave, age, family plans and other protected characteristics. What to leave out has the full list.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your organization, and in your state, with your counsel or HR policy office.