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Strategies to Improve Patient Flow
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By: Diversity Technology, Inc.
If one were to design the perfect office for maximum efficiency, some would suggest it look something like a spider web. Check-in and waiting areas would be located in the center and exam rooms would “spider web” out from there. From there, you might have doctors' private offices, then lesser used equipment rooms and storage areas, and so on.
The goal here is to minimize the distance people (both staff and patients) travel from point to point around the office. Think of the key people in the practice- where they're most likely to be and where they'll need to go. Patients should not have to travel far from the front desk to the waiting area, to the exam room, to the check out area. Office staff should be able to move quickly between exams rooms, supply areas and private offices. Shortening these distances saves time, accelerates turnover, and gets patients on their way faster. Along this line of thinking, here are some standard strategies to consider.
Independent Work Zones– Larger practices with multiple providers might consider localized zones in different parts of the office that function independently. Regularly used supplies not kept in exam rooms– vaccines, syringes, test kits– can be kept in strategic locations for easy accessibility rather than requiring employees to walk down long hallways repeatedly throughout the day. Using this cluster approach within the spider web model above, there could be one secured supply closet or room for each cluster of 3-6 exam rooms, and the private offices of the doctors working in those rooms just a few steps away.
Small Workgroups– In the spirit of work zones, and particularly for larger practices, a team approach to different “zones” of the office can improve efficiency as well. At the start of each day, each member of the staff is assigned to a doctor. Throughout the day, the team supports the needs of that doctor in assisting patients, obtaining supplies, etc. This allows staff to know exactly where their responsibilities are and will keep them nearby and accessible. Of course teams should rotate regularly to ensure appropriate familiarity with all parts of the practice and for cross training to cover unexpected absences.
Three Exam Rooms Rule– Depending on the type of practice and patient needs, studies have shown that an average of three rooms per doctor offers optimum efficiency. In a perfect world, the doctor should be in one of the three rooms nearly all the time; meanwhile, there would be a patient on the way out in another exam room, and the third would be a patient on the way in. Less than three rooms per doctor can leave folks in the waiting room, or require more time between appointments, and more than three rooms will only move the wait time into the exam room, not actually accelerate the process.
Private Offices– Just like the rest of us, doctors are prone to slipping away to check messages, email, or the news online periodically during the day- moving private offices to be more readily accessible will make these quick breaks faster. To do this, centralize the private offices to wherever the doctor will spend most of the day. In the context of the spider web model above, each doctor would have an office in the middle of three exam rooms, with a secured supply area, with a team of nurses and support to keep patients moving through. Not only does it help with patient flow, it puts the most expensive person on payroll closest to where they can generate revenue.
These are just a few examples of the many opportunities ways practices can improve patient flow and increase revenues. For more information about maximizing your practice's revenues, contact Diversity Medical Billing Services. Diversity Technology, Inc. is a leading medical billing company that specializes in designing medical billing solutions for practices nationwide. Call today and learn how we deliver Results…That Make A Difference!
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