What device do I need?
July 25, 2018 3:14 PM Subscribe
I need to set up my new admin assistant with some kind of device, and I don't even know where to start. Requirements are inside!
I am about to hire an admin assistant for my medical private practice. The practice is already well-establisbed; the assistant is new. The assistant needs some kind of device - tablet or laptop? - to complete tasks while she's there, but I'm not at all versed in the options and don't even know where to start.
She needs to:
- access Gmail, Google calendar, and Google docs
- accept payments using Square (credit card processing - this requires a headphone jack port, which is not really negotiable)
- access Internet Explorer (not just Microsoft Edge), so I believe Chromebooks are not an option. My insurance software only works with Explorer, so this is also not negotiable.
One tricky piece here is that she won't have a desk - she'll be stationed in a chair in the waiting room. So presumably a tablet is better that a laptop?
Other considerations:
- I don't use Apple products, so an iPad would involve a learning curve for me and wouldn't be as compatible with my phone and computers... And honestly, I'm not super interested in learning a new system. But if an iPad is truly the best option, I'm open to it.
- She will be submitting insurance claims and settling payments from insurance companies online, so she would probably appreciate a decent-sized screen.
- I don't really need or want the most expensive device out there. Basically, I need to access the internet (with Explorer) and accept credit card payments using a headphone jack port. The systems I already have in place require these two things.
Any suggestions? You can assume (correctly) that I have little-to-no knowledge about the latest tech devices, and that detailed, simplistic, specific explanations are best. Thanks!
I am about to hire an admin assistant for my medical private practice. The practice is already well-establisbed; the assistant is new. The assistant needs some kind of device - tablet or laptop? - to complete tasks while she's there, but I'm not at all versed in the options and don't even know where to start.
She needs to:
- access Gmail, Google calendar, and Google docs
- accept payments using Square (credit card processing - this requires a headphone jack port, which is not really negotiable)
- access Internet Explorer (not just Microsoft Edge), so I believe Chromebooks are not an option. My insurance software only works with Explorer, so this is also not negotiable.
One tricky piece here is that she won't have a desk - she'll be stationed in a chair in the waiting room. So presumably a tablet is better that a laptop?
Other considerations:
- I don't use Apple products, so an iPad would involve a learning curve for me and wouldn't be as compatible with my phone and computers... And honestly, I'm not super interested in learning a new system. But if an iPad is truly the best option, I'm open to it.
- She will be submitting insurance claims and settling payments from insurance companies online, so she would probably appreciate a decent-sized screen.
- I don't really need or want the most expensive device out there. Basically, I need to access the internet (with Explorer) and accept credit card payments using a headphone jack port. The systems I already have in place require these two things.
Any suggestions? You can assume (correctly) that I have little-to-no knowledge about the latest tech devices, and that detailed, simplistic, specific explanations are best. Thanks!
Best answer: One device she needs is a desk. And I'm not being snarky. I guess if your waiting room was set up for it you'd have a desk for her. But if she is "submitting insurance claims and settling payments from insurance companies online" and you think "she would probably appreciate a decent-sized screen", she'd probably appreciate not holding a device all day on her lap or in front of her and an actual keyboard. Do you have a desk? Maybe let your assistant use it once in a while?
Any way, get her an iPad. The learning curve for you won't be that steep.
posted by Rob Rockets at 3:28 PM on July 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
Any way, get her an iPad. The learning curve for you won't be that steep.
posted by Rob Rockets at 3:28 PM on July 25, 2018 [48 favorites]
(the other side of your coin is that internet explorer is not available on iOS, OSX, Android, Windows 10S, or anything other than full blown Windows 7, 8.1 or 10.)
paypal here offers a card reader that is compatible with windows and would allow you to take credit cards and open internet explorer on a microsoft surface tablet (you'd have to upgrade to full Windows 10 instead of just 10S that may be the default).
posted by noloveforned at 3:37 PM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
paypal here offers a card reader that is compatible with windows and would allow you to take credit cards and open internet explorer on a microsoft surface tablet (you'd have to upgrade to full Windows 10 instead of just 10S that may be the default).
posted by noloveforned at 3:37 PM on July 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding the desk. I do some complicated stuff in a conference room with a tiny table that isn't really a desk, and it impacts my productivity like whoa. Your assistant needs a work surface.
If I didn't like everything else about this job very, very much indeed, my working conditions would be 100% a dealbreaker. You will have trouble retaining someone if she is just juggling devices while sitting in a waiting room chair.
posted by Frowner at 3:43 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
If I didn't like everything else about this job very, very much indeed, my working conditions would be 100% a dealbreaker. You will have trouble retaining someone if she is just juggling devices while sitting in a waiting room chair.
posted by Frowner at 3:43 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I have been a medical clinic receptionist. Nothing this: she really needs a desk. It doesn't have to be huge, it can be small, but she really needs a work surface. Sitting behind a desk is also going to facilitate her interaction with your clients--it identifies her as the person to go to with questions or to set up insurance claims, and it gives her a little bit of a barrier in the event that a frustrated client becomes angry with her (this always eventually happens when interacting with people and money, especially with people who aren't feeling well and money).
Once she has a desk, a laptop will be much more comfortable and efficient to work on.
posted by snorkmaiden at 3:49 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Once she has a desk, a laptop will be much more comfortable and efficient to work on.
posted by snorkmaiden at 3:49 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you for the feedback so far. I totally agree that a desk would be best (I don't have one, either, but don't really need it). It's a shared office space so putting in a big piece of furniture is tricky, but I appreciate the perspectives and will speak to the owners about getting some kind of small work surface ASAP. Anyway, carry on... And thanks!
posted by JubileeRubaloo at 3:52 PM on July 25, 2018
posted by JubileeRubaloo at 3:52 PM on July 25, 2018
Best answer: If you want something that is not a Windows PC, you are going to need to switch billing software. There is no non-Windows option that is going to support Internet Explorer. That's like... a defining feature of Internet Explorer. So yeah, you're going to need a phone or tablet that works with Square, and you're going to need a laptop or desktop PC. I'd suggest reminding yourself that the prices of these things compared to the amount you pay in wages are really quite small.
I would suggest you need more than just a "work surface" in this case for other reasons.
posted by Sequence at 4:00 PM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
I would suggest you need more than just a "work surface" in this case for other reasons.
posted by Sequence at 4:00 PM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Oh my gosh she needs a computer. With a real monitor, a real keyboard, and a real mouse. Maaaybe a laptop with an ok-size screen, as log as she also has a mouse and doesn't have to use the touchpad. If you can't set up a workspace for her then frankly you are not in a position to operate this business - I sincerely mean that, 0 snark intended. It is not feasible to do a lot of entering of stuff into insurance software and whatnot on a touch screen that you're holding with one hand or on your lap.
Agreed with others that she needs an actual (Windows, because that's your only option for IE) computer on a table with a keyboard & mouse and somewhere to put down a piece of paper she can read off of/type off of, and probably a separate system for accepting payments.
posted by brainmouse at 4:13 PM on July 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Agreed with others that she needs an actual (Windows, because that's your only option for IE) computer on a table with a keyboard & mouse and somewhere to put down a piece of paper she can read off of/type off of, and probably a separate system for accepting payments.
posted by brainmouse at 4:13 PM on July 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Best answer: This is a situation that's crying out for a proper desktop computer with a proper keyboard, monitor, and mouse. They're going to be stationary all day, they're going to be looking at a screen and typing things into it all day. A laptop is ergonomically quite inferior to a desktop in that the keyboard is cramped, and the screen is small and located below eye level. They are also less capable, dollar for dollar. The only benefit to a laptop is portability, but that's not relevant in this case.
Are you in the US? As an American, every doctor's office I have ever been to in my life has had their receptionist(s) behind a counter, at a desktop PC. I have always assumed that the counter is there as a barrier to prevent me from seeing sensitive medical information, not to mention that's where they keep their printer, scanner, clipboards full of forms to fill out, etc. If you are not in the US then perhaps expectations are different where you are, but anything less than that would seem frankly amateur hour to me. A receptionist who was just a person in a chair in the waiting room with a tablet would seriously weird me out. How are they going to print my receipt? How are they going to scan my ID and health insurance card? Where will they keep their business cards, their appointment reminder forms, etc.? What will they do when they need to take or make a phone call that may involve verbally communicating sensitive medical information?
Also, yes, you need a Windows PC of some kind for Explorer and a tablet of some kind for Square. I've never seen a doctor's office use Square though; are you really 100% married to that system? There are lots of other ways of running a credit card, as evinced by the fact that most doctors' offices I've been to have some kind of credit card scanner sticky-taped to the edge of the receptionist's computer monitor.
Surely there must be some kind of information on best practices for this kind of stuff. I can't help but think that there's a whole lot of stuff here that you haven't thought about. A medical receptionist is a lot more than just a cashier.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:31 PM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
Are you in the US? As an American, every doctor's office I have ever been to in my life has had their receptionist(s) behind a counter, at a desktop PC. I have always assumed that the counter is there as a barrier to prevent me from seeing sensitive medical information, not to mention that's where they keep their printer, scanner, clipboards full of forms to fill out, etc. If you are not in the US then perhaps expectations are different where you are, but anything less than that would seem frankly amateur hour to me. A receptionist who was just a person in a chair in the waiting room with a tablet would seriously weird me out. How are they going to print my receipt? How are they going to scan my ID and health insurance card? Where will they keep their business cards, their appointment reminder forms, etc.? What will they do when they need to take or make a phone call that may involve verbally communicating sensitive medical information?
Also, yes, you need a Windows PC of some kind for Explorer and a tablet of some kind for Square. I've never seen a doctor's office use Square though; are you really 100% married to that system? There are lots of other ways of running a credit card, as evinced by the fact that most doctors' offices I've been to have some kind of credit card scanner sticky-taped to the edge of the receptionist's computer monitor.
Surely there must be some kind of information on best practices for this kind of stuff. I can't help but think that there's a whole lot of stuff here that you haven't thought about. A medical receptionist is a lot more than just a cashier.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:31 PM on July 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Okay, I realize now that I did a poor job of explaining my set up and didn't give enough detail about the assistant's tasks... but it actually doesn't matter because the feedback I've received so far, while not really what I was looking for, has been super useful in a different way. No more responses needed for now - I've reached out to my landlords for ideas and I will totally rethink this whole thing. Thanks, all, I appreciate the honest feedback!
posted by JubileeRubaloo at 4:44 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by JubileeRubaloo at 4:44 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Microsoft Surface Laptop
posted by AugustWest at 5:40 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by AugustWest at 5:40 PM on July 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
FWIW, Square makes a wireless card reader that sits on a desk like a little puck. So you don’t necessarily need a headphone port.
posted by adamrice at 5:51 PM on July 25, 2018
posted by adamrice at 5:51 PM on July 25, 2018
My insurance software only works with Explorer, so this is also not negotiable.
Not what you want to hear, but this is just asking for trouble. You need a different insurance software.
posted by kuanes at 4:14 AM on July 26, 2018
Not what you want to hear, but this is just asking for trouble. You need a different insurance software.
posted by kuanes at 4:14 AM on July 26, 2018
My wife worked in a Dr's office that took co-pays using Square on an iPad, so that does work. My guess is that you are not going to be in an Explorer-only product for long since Microsoft is ceasing to support it.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:05 AM on July 26, 2018
posted by SemiSalt at 6:05 AM on July 26, 2018
My insurance software only works with Explorer, so this is also not negotiable.
Is this software you've installed locally, or are you using a service provided through a website? If the latter, check that this is still the case. The writing's been on the wall for Internet Explorer for a while now, and while I don't imagine it'd be dropped from Windows any time soon, I also would think that companies that rely on a web interface should be making progress towards making their sites compatible with other browsers.
posted by Aleyn at 1:37 PM on July 26, 2018
Is this software you've installed locally, or are you using a service provided through a website? If the latter, check that this is still the case. The writing's been on the wall for Internet Explorer for a while now, and while I don't imagine it'd be dropped from Windows any time soon, I also would think that companies that rely on a web interface should be making progress towards making their sites compatible with other browsers.
posted by Aleyn at 1:37 PM on July 26, 2018
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posted by noloveforned at 3:20 PM on July 25, 2018