Question

you work at the front desk of apex family medical center. a patient with medicare has called with a question about a professional charge for a specific procedure that appears on her bill for an appointment last month. based on the document, you should: a. inform the billing department manager. b. review the posted medicare bulletin for updated information on covered procedures. c. refer her to the billing department specialist. d. submit an inquiry to the staff assigned to her physician. e. confirm that the procedure is consistent with the clinical diagnosis.

Explanation:

The problem is about handling a patient's query regarding a Medicare - related professional charge on a medical bill. In a medical office setting, when a patient has a question about billing (especially related to professional charges and Medicare), the appropriate action is to refer the patient to the billing department specialist who is trained to handle such billing - related inquiries. Option A is incorrect as informing the manager is not the direct way to address the patient's query. Option B is about reviewing a bulletin for covered procedures, but the patient's question is about a specific charge on her bill, not about coverage. Option D is about submitting an inquiry to the physician's staff, which is not relevant to billing. Option E is about confirming the procedure - diagnosis consistency, which is not related to the billing question.

Answer:

C. refer her to the billing department specialist.