As Dr. Bartels, Dr. Ramly and colleagues continue to refine rooming practices and overall scheduling efficiencies, they have recently released the BP Connect Health Toolkit to help others easily implement the tool in individual practice settings. They are also working with another practice that is applying the time study tool.
Dr. Ramly notes that the tool can elicit different information based on the organization. Therefore, it provides a way to establish an individualized baseline for a practice or a group of practices to understand and improve rooming-time practices.
“Taking the time to engage in systematic analysis of rooming workflows is beneficial for an organization to identify their own opportunities for improving efficiency and patient care,” Dr. Ramly adds.
Dr. Bartels says another important benefit of the tool is that it’s easy to use and provides strong data to effect important changes in practice that can increase satisfaction among clinic staff, physicians and even patients, who appreciate a more consistent rooming experience for each clinic visit.
“With strong baseline data and highly engaged staff, physicians have the ability to address quality improvement in a systematic way and also build capacity for their practice,” she says.
Carina Stanton is a freelance science journalist in Denver.
References
- Stroik B, Bartels CM, Lauver D, et al. Unwanted variations in rheumatology clinic rooming: A time study tool and analysis [abstract 1030]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(suppl 10).
- Chodara A, Wattiaux A, Bartels CM. Managing cardiovascular disease risk in rheumatoid arthritis: Clinical updates and three strategic approaches. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2017 Apr;19(4):16. doi: 10.1007/s11926-017-0643-y.
- Vreede A, Voelker K, Wong J, et al. Rheumatologists more likely to perform tobacco cessation counselling in uncontrolled rheumatoid arthritis visits [abstract 2631]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(suppl 10).
