Registering a Patient

When registering a patient - for every visit, for every patient make sure you do the following: 

• Check Medicare card - is the spelling the same as we have? Is the card valid? 
• Check the name - do we have correct spelling of the first and last names, has the name changed since the last visit?
• Check the full address - either have the patient say it to you or say it to them, do not ask are you still in Blacktown, or are you still at Campbell Street it is possible to move to a different house in the same suburb or street!
• Check the full phone number - do not ask does your number end in 045?
• Check the date of birth. 
• Check the request - are we doing the correct test, is there a test that was not mentioned when making an appointment? Do the clinical notes match the test, are they valid for bulk billing purposes?

Never ask "have any of your details changed?" - how does the patient know what details we have on file?