Kelly O’Connor handles the billing for Dr. Sinclair’s busy orthopedic practice. Patients are sent to Kelly to give her information about their insurance coverage, make payment arrangements, and pay their portion of office calls. One day she is collecting a payment from an elderly patient who came to Dr. Sinclair for treatment of arthritis. He had moved to the United States from a small island in the South Pacific a few years ago. The patient is visibly upset. Kelly asks if Mr. Juarez is all right. He says, “Everything here is so rush-rush. The doctor has no time.” How can Kelly appropriately respond to the patient? Are there questions she might ask him to learn more about his feelings? How should she follow up? Should she share this encounter with anyone else in the office? Why?
