Bow Valley Medical Clinic: Enhancing Business Communication Skills

This practical assignment provides a series of business communication scenarios within a healthcare setting, specifically focusing on Bow Valley Medical Clinic. The scenarios include appointment scheduling and communication challenges involving a patient, Mr. Joseph Haines, who requires a dermatology consultation. The assignment covers various forms of professional communication, such as letters, emails, and memoranda, to address issues like appointment scheduling, referral processes, and changes in office policies. The scenarios highlight the importance of clear and effective communication among medical staff, referring doctors, specialists, and patients to ensure quality patient care and avoid misunderstandings. The final scenario details a change in the clinic's office policy to improve communication protocols, emphasizing the need for MOAs to obtain approvals before informing patients of appointments booked far in advance, aiming to reduce confusion and enhance relationships with patients.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Business Communication Skills
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Scenario 1
Mr. Joseph Haines,
186, Springriver Way, Calgary AB
T2H 2H2
Subject: Appointment with Dr. David Bernard
Dear Sir,
This is to notify you that, Dr. David Bernard, the reputed dermatologist of Bowview Hospital,
Calgary, has accepted our referral to review your skin problem. We had sent him detailed
information about your case and after going through the history and referral letter by Dr. Shelly
Smith, Dr. Bernard has agreed to see you in his office on Tuesday, April 7, 2017.
The details of your appointment with Dr. Bernard are given below.
Doctor’s name: Dr. David Bernard
Appointment venue: Bowview Hospital, 1744, Opal Avenue, Calgary, T2H 2H3
Date and time of appointment: Tuesday, April 7th, 2017, 10.00 AM.
Please bring the list of all the current medicines and documents and your AHC card while
visiting Dr. Bernard. It is also recommended that you confirm your appointment 7 days prior else
the appointment will be cancelled. Your earliest response will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
MOA,
Bow Valley Medical Clinic
7003 10 St, Calgary, AB T2H 0B8
November 17, 2016.

2BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Scenario 2
Subject: Referral of Joseph Haines
Dear Madam,
This email is regarding your patient:
Haines, Joseph. DOB: Jan 01 1967
AHC# 123456789
186 Springriver Way, Calgary AB
T2H 2H2
This is to inform you that Dr. David Bernard, Bowview Hospital, has accepted your referral of
Mr. Haines and agreed to see him on April 7th, 2017 at 10 AM. We had informed Mr. Haines
accordingly. However, today we got a response from Mr. Haines that due to his increasing skin
problem, he has become very depressed and is not feeling comfortable in leaving his house for
any kind of purpose. It is causing a negative impact on his mental health. His social life is being
disturbed as well, since he is not attending any social gathering. Thus, he has asked for an
appointment sooner or else he would like to see another doctor.
As we reviewed the information sent to Dr. Bernard, we found that, there had been no mention of
his mental health, as reported by him in his earlier visits. Hence, Dr. Bernard has triggered him
as a non-urgent patient and set the appointment on April 7. This has caused agitation in Mr.
Haines and he wants to prepone his appointment with Dr. Bernard or visit another doctor sooner.
As you are not in your office today, we felt that we should inform you right away via email as
this is an urgent situation.
Sincerely,
MOA,
Bow Valley Medical Clinic
7003 10 St, Calgary, AB T2H 0B8
November 27, 2016.

3BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Scenario 3
Dr. David Bernard,
Bowview Hospital,
1744, Opal Avenue, Calgary, T2H 2H3
Subject: Application for preponing the appointment date of Mr. Haines due to urgency
Dear Sir,
This is in regard to the case of Mr. Joseph Haines. We are sorry to inform you that, there
has been a serious mistake on our part while referring Mr. Haines to you. Mr. Haines has been
suffering from depression due to the increasing skin problems and this medical problem has been
affecting his social life very negatively. He has stopped leaving his house lately and not
attending any social gathering due to the discomfort caused by his skin problem. The medical
issue has been creating a mental problem for him. Dr. Smith deeply regrets that in the referral
letter, she has forgotten to mention this problem. This has led you to treat Mr. Haines as a non-
urgent patient and set the appointment in April.
After we informed Mr. Haines about the date of appointment with you, he has reverted to
us saying that he is very upset about the date being so far, because the increasing skin problems
are creating heavy distress for him. He wants to be treated sooner or he will see another doctor as
he cannot deal with the skin irritation anymore.
Therefore, we request you to please consider this issue and kindly arrange an
appointment for Mr. Haines sooner, so that he can go back to his normal life again. However, we
deeply regret for the inconvenience caused for our mistake. Your earliest response will be highly
appreciated.
Sincerely,
MOA,
Bow Valley Medical Clinic
7003 10 St, Calgary, AB T2H 0B8
November 28, 2016.

4BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Scenario 4
Dr. Shelly Smith
Bow Valley Medical Clinic
7003 10 St, Calgary, AB T2H 0B8
Subject: The appointment of Joseph Haines
Dear Madam,
This is to notify you that Dr. Bernard has read your request for reconsidering the issue of
changing the date of appointment of Mr. Joseph Haines from April 7, 2017 to sooner. Based on
the urgency and criticality of the situation of Mr. Haines, Dr. Bernard has agreed to treat him at
the earliest as an urgent patient. Hence, the date of appointment has been preponed and set on
December 15th, 2016 at 10.00 AM.
Kindly inform Mr. Haines about the change of appointment date. He must bring all the previous
medical documents, list of current medications and his AHC card. Kindly also ask him to
acknowledge and confirm the appointment at the earliest via telephone number +1 403-291-
2300.
Sincerely,
MOA,
Bowview Hospital,
1744, Opal Avenue, Calgary, T2H 2H3
[phone]
November 30, 2016.

5BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Scenario 5
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Employees
FROM: Dr. Shelly Smith
DATE: November 30, 2016
SUBJECT: Change in office policy W.E.F. December 1, 2016.
Bow Valley Medical Clinic is going to implement a major change in the office policy in regard
to the exchange of information and communication with the patients, with effective from
December 1, 2016. Every employee should be aware that, if an appointment is booked for 6
months or more in advance, the MOA and all other concerned persons should notify the referring
doctor before the patient is informed about the appointment. The MOA must wait for the
approval to come from the referring doctor as well as from the referred doctor, in case of any
referral, before sending the notification and the details of the appointment to the concerned
patient.
This policy should be followed strictly by all employees, especially, by the MOAs to avoid any
confusion regarding communication with the patients. Any miscommunication or
communication gap creates confusion, which hampers our relationship with the patient as well as
the regular activities of the medical clinic.
I expect that every employee will cooperate with each other and will try to avoid any further
confusion or complication regarding any appointment in the future with the best intention for the
patients as well as for Bow Valley Medical Clinic.
With best regards,
Sincerely,
Dr. Shelly Smith.