Guide ✦ Healthcare

What a clinic
should delegate first

Most practices start with the phones, because that is the noise. Start with the rejected claims instead — it is quieter, it pays for the role, and it teaches your billing faster than anything else.

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Laarni Tumbokon
Laarni TumbokonHR manager, Manila
Last reviewed August 2026
Looking for VA work yourself? Apply at staffingsolutions.ph — this guide is written for businesses hiring.

A practice under pressure has two visible symptoms: the phone rings while someone is at the counter, and the diary has gaps that should not be there. Both are real, and both are usually chosen as the first handover.

But there is a third symptom nobody looks at, and it is the one holding money. Rejected and unreconciled claims, sitting in a pile because the person who could work them is doing the first two things.

Start there. Claim recovery is finite, measurable, self-funding and it forces the new team member to learn your item numbers and your practice software properly. Then take the phones, once they know how the practice actually runs.

Before you read on

Who this is for

✓Worth your time if

  • You have rejected or unreconciled claims nobody has worked
  • The phone goes to voicemail during clinic hours
  • Your diary has gaps and no one is working the waitlist
  • Recalls happen when somebody remembers

✕Probably not if

  • You need clinical triage — that requires a qualified person
  • You want someone on site
  • Your item numbers and fee schedule have never been set up properly
  • You have no written escalation protocol for urgent calls
The work, in order

What comes off the front desk and the practitioners

Ordered by payback and safety. The first one usually funds the role.

Claim rejection recovery

Every rejected line diagnosed, corrected and resubmitted — wrong item, missing referral date, changed patient details. Finite, measurable and almost always the fastest payback available.

Claim preparation and reconciliation

Bulk bill, DVA and private claims prepared and submitted, remittances matched, short payments pursued rather than absorbed.

Private invoicing and debtor follow-up

Invoices raised, gaps calculated from your fee schedule, statements issued and accounts chased on a cadence.

Inbound calls

Answered in your practice's name, triaged to your written protocol, booked or escalated — not sent to voicemail while someone is at the counter.

Confirmations and reminders

Every appointment confirmed ahead of time, which is the single most effective lever on your no-show rate.

Waitlist backfill

A live waitlist worked the moment a cancellation lands, instead of an empty hour.

Recall programmes

Overdue recalls worked as a standing weekly programme with outcomes tracked.

Referral and results administration

Referrals logged and chased for completeness, results filed against the record for practitioner review, referrers acknowledged and reported back to.

The clinical line

Administration travels. Anything requiring clinical judgement does not, and this is not a matter of trust or capability.

  • Clinical adviceNo advice on symptoms, medication or whether to attend. Escalated to a practitioner, always.
  • TriageThey apply your written protocol and escalate anything outside it. They do not assess urgency.
  • Results and diagnosesResults are filed for practitioner review, never interpreted or conveyed to a patient.
  • Item number determinationWhich item reflects the service delivered is a practitioner decision. Billing applies it and queries anomalies.
  • Clinical prioritisationWho should be seen sooner on clinical grounds is a practitioner call.
Services Australia — Medicare for health professionals ↗AHPRA — registration standards ↗OAIC — health information ↗
From the handovers we run

The first three months

Money first, phones second. The opposite of what most practices do.

1

Weeks 1–2: the rejection backlog

Point them at the aged rejected claims. It is finite, every fix is verifiable, and it teaches your item mix and practice software faster than any training.

2

Weeks 3–4: current claiming and reconciliation

Now the live cycle, with your review before submission for the first month. Weekly rejection reporting starts here.

3

Month 2: confirmations and waitlist

Two changes with immediate, measurable effects on no-show rate and diary utilisation.

4

Month 2: the phones

Only now, and only with a written triage and escalation protocol. By this point they know your practitioners, appointment types and patients.

5

Month 3+: recalls and referral coordination

Standing programmes rather than reactive work. Both need enough context to know what matters.

The mistake that costs a fortnight

Taking the phones with no written protocol

Practices hand over reception first and often have no written triage or escalation protocol, because the existing staff have simply absorbed it over years. That is fine until an unwell or distressed patient calls and asks a direct question. Without a written protocol the person either escalates everything — in which case you have gained nothing — or answers, which is exactly what must not happen. The protocol needs to exist on paper before a single call is taken: which presentations go straight to a practitioner, which get booked, what the exact words are for declining to advise, and who to escalate to when nobody answers. If you do not have one, that is worth knowing regardless of whether you hire anyone, because your current staff are working without it too.

Keep reading

Related guides

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Role

Medical billing & claims

Claiming, recovery and reconciliation.

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Role

Medical receptionist

Phones, bookings and reminders.

Read it →
Role

Patient scheduling

Waitlist, recalls and utilisation.

Read it →
Questions

Frequently asked

Is patient data safe with an offshore team member?
They work inside your practice software as a named user with the access the role needs, so records stay in your system and every action is attributed. Access is revocable instantly. Your Privacy Act and state health records obligations apply regardless of location — which is why access control matters far more than geography.
Do they know Medicare and DVA claiming?
It is what we screen for on billing roles, and there is a real pool with Australian practice experience. The MBS is large and item mixes are practice-specific, so expect a few weeks of ramp-up even with an experienced person.
How much do the old rejections usually recover?
It varies with volume and how long they have been neglected, but almost every practice has claims within the time limits that nobody has worked. It is why we point new starters there first. Ask us to look at your last two quarters on the call.
Can they cover the phones during clinic hours?
Yes — Manila is two to three hours behind eastern Australia, which covers the bulk of a clinic day. Early morning calls stay with your local staff, and we map the overlap against your actual call pattern rather than assuming.
Is there a minimum term?
Three months, then month to month. It's the same runway you'd give a new local hire to learn your systems, your clients and your standards — and the team members who get a fair run are the ones who stay for years. There are no exit penalties at any point, and if the issue is the person rather than the role, the first-week refund and free replacement cover that separately.
How do you handle confidentiality?
The same way you'd treat any remote team member. Every placement signs an NDA and a confidentiality clause before day one, and they work inside your systems — your email, your CRM, your file storage — so you control what they can see and can revoke access instantly. No client data is stored on our side.