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Avoid Patient Bottlenecks in the Medical Practice |
But to address the impediments that sabotage your patient flow, you must first identify the bottlenecks caused by human, technical, and design flaws existing in your practice.
Typical bottlenecks include:
- Multiple appointments occupying a single provider time slot (double- and triple-booking);
- Patient no-shows and late arrivals;
- Providers arriving late;
- Providers taking an inordinate amount of time with patients;
- Emergencies and urgent walk-ins;
- Duplicated processes (such as registration/check-in procedures);
- Efficient and consistent internal systems and processes ignored (or not implemented in the first place);
- Lost or incomplete paperwork or electronic documentation; and
- Confusing, inefficient office layout.
In the end, recognize that the “ideal” visit keeps patients moving through the system, but does not leave them feeling so rushed as not to have time to ask questions and understand instructions. It will require education and staff buy-in to change your culture to seek efficiency in all processes.
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