subject: Patient Scheduling And Physician Access [print this page] In any medical practice, scheduling and tracking patient appointments becomes one of the most critical parts of running the entire business. Because this is the intake process, it can dictate how smoothly the remainder of the practice runs.
The results of patient satisfaction surveys can be the first sign there's a problem. Unhappy patients become complainers and tend to leave. The amount of no shows, walk outs and a slowdown in other doctor's referrals are other indicators that the scheduling process needs improvement.
Physician Access
This area can easily become the main point of frustration for everyone. The availability of their information has to be current, accurate and accessible. Makes sure physician's schedules are set up to address the following;
- Overbooking: This stresses out the physician if they see a list of patient charts reminding them of how far behind they are.
- Wait times: No patient wants to wait any more than they have to. If the patient begins questioning the staff about how much longer it will be, then the staff can get frazzled.
- Next available appointment: Appointment staff (not to mention, patients) can become anxious if an appointment is not available in the near future.
To improve the order of the physician's schedule, consider the following:
Slot Utilization- A mechanism needs to be put into place to make sure all of the specific appointment types are scheduled at the designated times. Some programs allow for schedule switches if a particular slot is not filled by a certain time. This makes the scheduling staff aware so they can book the slots with other appointment types.
Time Allocation- Results from time studies can help ensure the appropriate times are allowed for each appointment type.
Ancillary Services- Other departments can significantly impact patient flow. Make sure schedulers coordinate appointments and allow enough time for the other areas to do their job.
If scheduling problems persist, it may be necessary to perform an analysis of the physician's schedule. This means that an analyst needs to monitor the times each physician takes to go through their appointments as well as the appointment type.
The data collected can be placed on charts and matrixes to help identify the root causes of any physician scheduling issues.
Once these causes are accounted for and the necessary adjustments are made, appointment scheduling policies and procedures need to be developed. These become part of the operating system of the practice. They include individual physician's guidelines and requests and need to tie into the overall mission of the organization.
