• ALWAYS verify the DOB!!!

• Always have the patient remove their glasses prior to any testing

• Please write your name on the top right of the fee ticket. If a mistake is made, we can address the mistake with the tech for additional feedback & training

• Enter the name exactly as it appears on the fee ticket

• Please be friendly, but try to limit conversations with patients as to not back things up for our providers trying to see their patients 

• If they have mobility issues (walker or stability problems) put your foot on the back of the chair for stability when they are getting in & out so it doesn't move out from under them (this could lead to a fall)

• It is best to input the patient's information into the machine and be good to go before calling the patient back for a test

• ALWAYS clean the machine right in front of the patient. This way, they know it is clean and so do you. Even if you tell the patient it has already been wiped down with alcohol, many patients will insist that you do it again in front of them

• Some patients are hard of hearing, so try to find a firmer tone of voice when speaking with them, but not to a point that you are yelling

• 85% of our testing is on the OCT and Optos/Fundus Photos. Is is best to master these machines as best as possible before learning to do other tests

• If someone is walking with a chart in their hands and they are rounding a corner, likely they are escorting a patient. Please be aware of this and wait for them to pass before proceeding

• Occasionally, patients will flat out refuse to have imaging on them or to have anything done to them prior to seeing the provider, such as checking their IOP or dilating their eyes. Even after explaining the necessity of doing something, if a patient refuses anything, properly document this and inform the provider. Always remember, doing something against a patient's will is defined as assault! Even if they decline life- saving treatment in a hospital, the patient has the right to do so!

• Never be afraid to ask for help if needed! No one will be angry at you for this, especially if you are new. If you are having a tough time with a test, please reach out to management or a senior tech for assistance. It is better to ask for help rather than do a subpar test on someone, and risk having to redo it. 

• None of our tests cause damage to a persons eye! You will often be asked if radiation is involved with a scan, or if  the bright light from the Optos is like looking into the sun and will damage their retina. No, it will not!

• 1. • When entering a name/DOB into a diagnostic machine, take an extra 5 seconds after this to make sure you have entered the name and DOB correctly!

     • Please enter the name exactly as it is on the patient's fee ticket 

     • Please also make sure the name on the chart matches the name on the machine. This is also a common mistake people make where we do a test under the wrong patient's name. 

     • Even if diagnostics is very busy,  backed up, and people keep ringing the help bell, please do not skip these crucial steps because if a mistake is made, the time it takes to fix it will greatly outweigh the 5 seconds it takes to avoid it in the first place!

     • If there is a mistake, the provider will not be able to see the images in iViews and they will become upset and their clinic will become chaotic

     • If there are multiple tests required, please cross out the test that was done and write "done" next to it

• The diagnostics slip will tell you what test to do and what to do with the patient afterwards (room, workup, check out, optical, or counselor)

• When rooming a patient from diagnostics, you will have 3 options:  

1. Put them in a room to be seen by the provider

2. The providers rooms are all full so you have the patient wait in a sub- waiting area 

3. they still need to be worked up by a tech before they see a provider 

Open Room 

1. If a room is open, have the patient sit in the chair and then clean off the silt lamp in front of the patient (tonometer first, then forehead and chinrest)

2. If a patient has mobility issues, please raise the footrest for them and then put it back  down when they are seated

3. Pull up the images in iViews from the provider exam

4. Change the room status in NextGen to "room" (note BTK team does not do this)

5. If rooming for an optometrist and it is a vision/glasses/CTL exam, enter the last manifest refraction into the phoropter!

Room Not Available

1. If a room is not available, have the patient wait in the sub- waiting area and place the chart in the room rack (see images below)

Workup

1) Have the patient wait in the sub- waiting area and place the chart in the workup rack in the pod (see images below)