Even in small practices, there are many details that compete for attention, making it easy to get off-track or run behind schedule.
The more organized and streamlined your processes are, the better your patient and staff experiences will become!
Happy patients are more likely to pay on time, leave favorable reviews and send their family and friends to see you—a win/win/win/win situation!
If your practice’s clinical administrative workflow could use some optimization, these 5 tips created by the Practice Development experts at Power2Practice will help you get there.
Clear and precise expectations are helpful when managing your clinical team’s administrative workflow, so consider the following practices:
Schedule office arrival times strategically, with enough time prior to the first appointment to respond to messages, answer questions and review the day’s schedule.
When practitioners are late, call ahead to notify the offices so staff can take steps to minimize impact.
For example: With enough notice, certain patients can be contacted to adjust appointment times or reschedule. Or, staff may be able to start some part of the treatment that doesn’t require physician presence.
Require attendance at a daily or weekly review and assessment of the appointment schedule. Questions to ask about scheduling would be:
› Are appointment types booked in an efficient order?
› Is the length of time for each appointment type adequate?
› Is the mix of complex and less complex appointments comfortable for the practitioner?
› Should ‘catch up’ blocks be inserted into the schedule?
Designate a specific time of day for communication tasks, such as responding to messages, answering questions that staff members may have about treatments and coordinating tasks such as lab orders, prescription refills, etc.
› Best practice is in the morning before the first appointment and during the lunch period before starting afternoon appointments.
› This practice also aids staff members in prioritizing their own workflow and in effectively setting patient expectations as to when they may receive response to their inquiries.
Agree upon a method for staff to prompt/remind practitioners who are running late.
› Ask the team:
- Should staff members interrupt with gentle reminders ?
- How will you handle consistently late practitioners?
- Are there certain tasks that non-‐practitioners can do to keep the schedule on time?
› Practitioners who start a late appointment should acknowledge the delay, apologize and be accountable. Authenticity can make the patient feel better while inspiring trust and confidence.
› Never blame the delay on your staff! It will build distrust and degrade the patient experience.
Is your practice optimized for maximum workflow, profitability and patient satisfaction?
Take our practice assessments to see how your practice is doing, then download more free tips like the ones above, created by the Practice Development experts at Power2Practice.
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