In the clinical back office, use support staff to help accelerate appointments. A scribe can obtain the patient’s preliminary information, round with the provider and record patient information right in the exam room. Consider using a midlevel staff person to support the provider, which will allow her to concentrate on interacting with the patient.
Dr. Sesin’s practice has trained staff to prioritize certain tasks. Because telephones are the lifelines of the business, staff is asked to answer within the first two rings. Urgent visits, such as gout attacks or swollen and painful joints, are prioritized and fit in within 24 hours. In the back office, all insurances are verified, and copays, coinsurances and deductible amounts are confirmed, so that patients are charged the proper amounts before leaving—since 50% of patients never pay their bills.
Analyzing Staffing Needs
Determine where bottlenecks occur by asking staff. “Have regular meetings in which staff can give input and share ideas on ways to improve,” Ms. Mooney says. You may also want to assign a manager or supervisor to have a strong presence in the front and back office to track patient flow.
“Ensuring that each staff member knows what is expected of them and monitoring performance can help identify if more training is needed or if there is a performance issue—which should be addressed at the time,” Ms. Mooney continues.
By reviewing charts before patient appointments begin for the day & taking note of the visit’s purpose to see what preparations are needed, a medical assistant or nurse can avoid having to leave the exam room to retrieve test results & other medical reports.
Consider asking patients for their input as well, such as by using patient surveys. If you choose this method, Ms. Mooney would suggest keeping it short and handing it to the patient when he exits. Ask him to complete it before he leaves, mail it or bring it in next time. Patients are more likely to toss out lengthy or mailed forms.
Another way to gauge patient satisfaction is simply to ask at check-out if there is anything more that the office can do for them and if they feel they had all their questions answered and received the care they were looking for.
Analyzing Your Own Time Management
On occasion, it’s good to take a hard look at your own time management—especially if you often have patient delays. For starters, you should begin your day on time. You should also be sticking to the timeframe allotted for breaks and lunch.
