Julia, the business office manager, said “I’ve had it with Nancy Clemmons She has a very important position and she has been making mistakes and not following through with claims issues.

Julia, the business office manager, said “I’ve had it with Nancy Clemmons She has a very important position and she has been making mistakes and not following through with claims issues. I think it’s time to do something about her.” (Nancy Clemmons is in her early 60’s and has been with the practice for about 20 years). Harry Stone, the HR manager said -” what’s the problem with her?” “More like problems” Julia said. “She is responsible for following up on unpaid claims and she is about two weeks behind. It’s really affecting cash flow. She’s also been making mistakes, sending notices to insurance companies that aren’t behind, and she even contacted five patients for payment, though the insurance payment was still pending. I’ve gotten two calls from patients complaining about how rude Nancy was.” Julia went on to say that she has talked to Nancy, but there has been no improvement. Nancy just doesn’t accept the fact there is a problem. Harry had already read through Nancy’s HR file and saw that Julia had to give Nancy a written warning about 18 months ago, and she had turned things around. There was even a note from Julia that Nancy had improved. Julia told Harry that she is worried the issues are really starting up again, but this time Nancy just isn’t improving. Julia had set goals for Nancy, and they talked about prioritizing, better organizational skills, and the like, but there has been no improvement. Julia told Harry she is concerned the errors are actually escalating and if she gets any further behind, cash flow will be greatly affected, and the practice’s bills may not be covered. Harry asked to see Julia’s notes about the coaching and counseling meetings, but Julia hadn’t written anything down this time. Harry reminded Julia how important having the documentation is, even if the notes are in her department file, it still shows that Nancy has been given the opportunity to improve. Harry reminded Julia of the need to document, which Julia understood, but fact remains, there is nothing documented. Harry told Julia that termination now could set the practice up for some pushback from Nancy. 

QUESTIONS: 

1. What did Harry mean by “termination now could set the practice up for some push-back from Nancy”?

 2. What plan of action would you recommend Julia carry out to deal with Nancy?