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Physicians Practice PearlsSM
The following are excerpts from "Physicians
Practice Pearls,"SM the award-winning business
e-mail newsletter for physicians, written by Elizabeth Woodcock,
M.B.A., F.A.C.M.P.E., director of knowledge management, for
Physicians Practice. To subscribe, visit www.PhysiciansPractice.com. |
Organize to Capitalize
A practice should run like
a well-oiled machine. Imagine an operating room: When the surgeon
enters, the instruments, techs and nurses are all prepared. The
surgeon, who never needs to leave the room or call for help, can
perform the procedure efficiently.
Now, think about the average in-office patient encounter.
How many times a day does a physician leave an exam room in search
of a piece of equipment, information or form that's needed
for the visit? Some days, physicians feel like they spend more time
hunting down supplies or paperwork than seeing patients. That's
bad for morale and the bottom line.
What does this mean for you?
Treat your exam room like an operating room. Use these
tips to prepare for the day so you can focus on the patient.
- Stock the room. Someone (usually a nurse) should stock
each exam room with all supplies you will need at the start of
the day and restock in between patient visits. Establish protocols
based on the patient's chief complaint to determine how the room
should be equipped. If you are scheduled to conduct a well-woman
exam, for example, have the nurse prepare everything you'll need
to take a Pap. Supplies should be in the same place in each exam
room so you never have to slow down to search the room for something
you need.
- Preview your charts. Ask nurses or other qualified
staff to preview charts for the next day. Make sure they include
everything you need to complete the visit, including lab results,
referring physician correspondence, operative notes, forms or
prescription refill reminders. For example, if a 5-year-old is
scheduled for a well-child visit, staff should make sure the up-to-date
immunization record is clipped to the top of the chart.
- Before each morning and afternoon clinic, talk to your nurses.
Decide if there are issues that can be resolved immediately. For
example, if three new patients were accidentally booked for the
same slot, determine which patients can be rescheduled and prepare
accordingly. Use this time to anticipate things that otherwise
throw off the whole day — like a mom who schedules an appointment
for one child, but always asks you to examine his brother, too,
"as long as he's here." Pull both charts as a precaution
— it will take less time than looking for the additional
file during the visit.
- Get to the real reason for the visit. Too often, a
physician expects to see a patient for a particular problem or
condition and is ill prepared when the patient presents with something
else altogether. When patients call for an appointment, have them
explain their symptoms so you can prepare accordingly. Your schedulers
can say, "The doctor really wants to have enough time for
you; can you tell us why you're coming in?" Also, keep your
phones open during lunch — that's often the only time a patient
can call. It's difficult for them to discuss a confidential problem
in front of co-workers.
Stocking exam rooms, previewing charts, meeting twice
a day and establishing the reason for the visit will help make your
practice function as smoothly as an operating room. Just like the
surgeon in the OR, the most efficient physician never leaves the
exam room during the encounter. Why? He has the tools he needs to
get the job done!
Recruiting Physicians
Across the United States
It appears likely that some regions will soon
be facing a physician shortage. The number of physicians over
the age of 35 has increased 33.91 percent in the past 10 years,
while the number of medical school applicants has decreased
— from a high of nearly 47,000 in 1996 — to just
over 37,000 last year. Meanwhile, the patient population in
many areas is growing and graying.
Forecast the need for physicians in your area.
Your community may be growing fast enough to support a new
physician now, even if the recruitment process takes somewhat
longer.
To find out how large a population is required
to support a physician in your specialty, visit the Web site
of the National Center for Health Statistics. Go to www.cdc.gov/nchs
and click on the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
See how fast your region is growing by checking out the new
census data at www.census.gov.
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Keep Patients Moving
To keep patient traffic running smoothly in
your office, consider the following:
Maximize provider efficiency.
Make sure physicians are doing physician-only work and supporting
activities are staffed appropriately.
Use office space wisely.
Evaluate the physical setup of the practice. Find out where
bottlenecks occur and why — then make a change.
Look into automated solutions.
Electronic scheduling and patient tracking tools may not work
for every office, but they may help when there are multiple
waiting areas or several appointment categories.
Set specific goals.
Aim for reducing wait times to a certain length or decreasing
the number of patients in the waiting room at a given time.
Reaching goals lets you know you are making progress.
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This material is provided by Physicians
Practice and represents the views and opinions of Physicians
Practice and not Humana.
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