CHAPTER 1- SCHEDULINGExample 1oMorning for physical examsoAfternoon for sick patientsExample 2oOne day per week for referralsExample 3oOne day for pregnant patientsoOne day for gynecology patientsTrial and errorPop-Up QuestionWhat is the difference between wave booking and stream/time-specific scheduling? Show Get answer to your question and much more Determining Scheduling NeedsNeed to consideroPatientoProvideroFacilityVisits vary in lengthNew patients can take longerProvider preferencesoOpen lunch houroBreak between patientsFacility limitationsoRoom availabilityoEquipment availabilityMatrixOnline or in appointment bookGrid with time slotsBlocked out when unavailable, closedoHolidaysoMeal breaksoTime for roundsoMeetingsTemplateoBlock time automaticallyoReuse for additional pagesPop-Up QuestionWhat are the three factors that must be considered when scheduling appointments?
Optimizing patient schedules is a continuous process that is critical to physician efficiency and satisfied patients. Tools such as flow mapping and cycle-time management provide a means of gathering data to assist practices in addressing scheduling issues and streamlining the process to increase productivity and proficiency. Taking inventory of the scheduling trends in your practice can have a positive influence on tackling appointment templates, which determines patient flow that affects your revenue. Appointment TrendsThere are tools available to help you identify appointment trends; flow mapping and cycle-time measurement are two of these tools. Flow mapping is an organizational process designed to help businesses decrease inaccuracies and find opportunities to increase productivity. The flow-mapping method requires you to walk through your practice as if you were a patient and take detailed notes about the entire visit, from check-in to check-out. If you find a problem during any step of the process, it is vital to identify how you can streamline the process. Creating an action plan and sharing it with your staff will help your practice implement these changes. Practice expert James Womack advises organizations to challenge each step of a process and consider whether it is valuable, capable, available, adequate, and flexible.1 It’s not sufficient to simply state that it is important to know if each step of your process creates value for your patients. Cycle-time measurement is the actual time it takes to complete a process. This time measurement procedure builds on flow mapping and involves measuring and recording the time associated with various tasks within your practice. Total cycle time is generally considered to be the number of minutes from the time a patient signs in at the front desk to when he or she checks out. The best thing to measure, especially for better patient flow, is the practice’s high- to medium-level patient visits. Keep in mind that the cycle-time measurement should differentiate the wait time from check-in and the face-to-face visit time. Identifying the cycle-time measurement for your typical patient visits will help prevent bottlenecks that delay your schedule. The information gathered from flow mapping and cycle-time management will identify inefficiencies that result in longer visits, leading to staff having to work overtime, a decreased number of office visits per day, increased wait time for patients to get an appointment, increased no-show rates, and reduced revenue. Once problem areas are identified, discuss concerns from both staff and physician perspectives and collectively discuss recommendations. All practice staff, managers, and physicians should be encouraged to think outside of the box and focus on increasing patient volume and improving patient flow. SchedulingAn important contributing factor in optimizing patient schedules is to understand the various types of scheduling methods and apply the one best suited to your practice. There are a variety of schedule methods:
Physician practices should establish an appointment matrix to help staff schedule patients more efficiently. This matrix should have an accurate and up-to-date record of all appointment slots filled and times that are open for patient visits. This matrix can be accessed through a paper system or electronically through your practice-management software; either way, it should be accessible and visible for all staff to reference as needed throughout the workday. TrainingProviding continuous training for your staff and tracking scheduling errors is critical for optimizing patient scheduling. Schedules are only effective if your staff is trained and equipped to maximize them. Tracking scheduling conflicts—whether they are overbooking, incorrect scheduling, or underbooking—at certain times of the day can help address inefficiencies. What is stream time specific scheduling?Stream scheduling is also known as time-specific scheduling that involves allocating fixed time to patients. The approach ensures there is a patient at any given moment. Like a stream of water, it provides you with a healthy flow of patients and minimizes their waiting time.
What is wave booking scheduling?Wave scheduling is defined as an appointment scheduling method that involves assigning patient appointments at the same time. With a wave schedule, two or more patients arrive at the beginning of the hour and others at the bottom of the hour.
What is the difference between wave scheduling and modified wave scheduling?The “modified-wave” method takes advantage of the principal behind the “wave” method, but it is more patient friendly. The key to the modified-wave technique is to load up the front end of each hour and leave open slots in the schedule later on to catch up.
What are the 5 different appointment scheduling methods?Examples of common methods used for scheduling doctor appointments include time-specified scheduling, top of hour scheduling, wave scheduling, modified wave scheduling, integrated scheduling, double-booking scheduling, and clustering scheduling.
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