Take The Stress Out Of The Office
Is your office lagging behind, leaving patients frustrated and staff clambering to catch up throughout the day? You may be overlooking scheduling essentials that can help physicians more effectively manage patients in a timely manner.
What type of techniques are commonly practiced at punctual offices?
- Show up early.It is not uncommon for physicians to breeze into the office late or just in time, under the assumption the first patient will be late.
- Discourage late patients and walk-ins.Schedule them at the end of the session. Don’t work them in on arrival. Distribute flyers to these patients that clearly state: You’ve been registered as a late arrival. The doctor will see you after regularly scheduled patients have been seen.
- Be proactive in surfacing patients concerns.Today’s patient often brings multiple issues to the table, often saving complex issues for last. Time aware physicians can curtail this problem by taking control of the interview and asking patients to list all issues at the onset of the visit. For instance, before addressing an initial complaint (ie: allergies), ask if the patient has any additional issues to discuss, and again at least two more times before proceeding.
- Let medical assistants speed things up.Ask patients to list issues ahead of time as part of the check-in process, allowing MAs to collect and review these agendas before the physician consultation. Questions that can be answered or issues that can be handled by the MA prior to physician consultations save precious time.
Another key to helping physicians stay on schedule? A great medical answering service. Are you falling behind? Catch up with the help of MedConnectUSA today!
