![]() ![]() Be attentive that you're not so quick with that 'reply all.'"Īnd to avoid miscommunication, or missed messages, make sure each e-mail covers just one topic, unless otherwise noted in the subject line.įor example, if you put a note about an "executive lunch" at the bottom of the body of an e-mail message that was sent with a subject line related to a vacation day, the e-mail recipient might not scroll down and see it, says MacDonald. "And that can be a real annoyance, I think. "I've seen lot of 'reply all' when all don't need the reply," says Das. To keep your coworkers happy, be judicious about who you include in an e-mail. "This isn't a person's mailbox at home," says etiquette expert Elizabeth MacDonald, president of The Verbal Edge, a firm that works with corporate clients to improve etiquette skills, in Fort Wayne, Ind. In essence, staff should be clear that e-mail at work is only for work purposes. "These things can come back to haunt people and become a real liability." "If those jokes are perceived as a racial slur, or can be considered something that is sexual and inappropriate, companies have been sued over those before," says Hickman. You can more informal tone with each other, but there still needs to be a sense of professionalism about it."Įxamples of unprofessionalism include forwarding junk mail, chain letters, or inappropriate jokes. "Some of these e-mails can be read in court some day. "You have to be careful that it doesn't get sloppy because this also becomes a permanent record for the company," says Hickman. Brown" - but you still have to watch what you write. With interoffice e-mails, the tone can be less formal - you can refer to someone as "Nancy" instead of "Mrs. "And then close your e-mail with a warmer feel, like 'kind regards,' or 'best regards' at the end." "Start with a warm greeting like 'good morning' or 'good afternoon,'" says Hickman. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are important (be sure to avoid abbreviations such as "lol" for "laugh out loud"), and e-mails should be as brief as possible, with specific subject lines. Whether you're e-mailing your colleagues or patients, certain etiquette rules always apply. ![]() Or, if your staff is sending messages to patients without using a secure patient portal, it could put your practice at risk for a security breach, and penalties under the HIPAA Security Rule. Staff may forget this when sending inappropriate jokes to each other. The biggest challenge to e-mail, though, is that it's not private. "For some people, can seem very abrupt," says Hickman. For example, your staff may not be well-versed in grammar or they may not know how to convey things in writing with the appropriate tone. ![]() "Especially in healthcare when you're dealing with patients, there might be some issues that you wouldn't want to discuss via e-mail that would be better to discuss on the telephone, or in person."Īlso, sometimes using e-mail in lieu of a phone call can be perceived as unprofessional. "E-mail can also be perceived as very impersonal," says Karen Hickman, an etiquette consultant with Fort Wayne, Ind.-based etiquette consulting firm Professional Courtesy, LLC, who works with medical practices. Conveying a positive, professional message, therefore, can be tough over an electronic medium. When you meet someone in person, you make judgments not only based on what the individual is wearing, but on how he comes across - including his facial expression. Here, we go over some basic rules of e-mail etiquette to share with your staff for office-based and patient communications. But because of electronic communication's unique qualities, there are additional considerations, from using proper grammar to observing formalities. You need to be polite, professional, and friendly. Whether communicating with colleagues or patients face-to-face or via e-mail, the same age-old etiquette rules apply. Come across as too cutesy, grammatically inept, impolite, or inappropriate, and your e-mails could offend colleagues or turn off patients from your practice. When it comes to communicating with patients, and even with fellow staff, making a good impression is just the first of many reasons your written - or typed - words are so important. "We are in the age of computers, and e-mail is a huge way of communication, so that could be the first way of meeting a patient," says Hendersonville, N.C.-based Darlene Das, president of etiquette consulting company Today's Etiquette, and a trained surgical technician who specializes in medical practice etiquette. What most people may not realize is that this rule doesn't just apply to person-to-person meetings. Most people know it only takes a few seconds to make an impression, and most first impressions are difficult to change. ![]()
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