Flip No. 58

Build Better Processes for Unavoidable Wait Times

How Planning Can Ease Both Clinician and Patient into a More Productive Visit

By Durham Lab Participants

Developed at Flip the Clinic Lab: Durham

When a clinic gets off schedule, it can cause a domino effect that negatively affects everyone in the clinic. Patient stress spikes; clinicians, already rushed, now have to mollify patients. Add a toddler. Add an achy body, a runny nose, and a persistent cough.

Even if a practice takes a hard look its operations and scheduling, doing everything within reason to cut down delays, every once in a while, something unavoidable will come up. Instead yielding to that chain of negative experiences, clinics would be better off flipping their approach to delays.

How could a clinic fix this vexing problem? By approaching it head on. When there’s a delay, a chain of notifications is initiated. The patient is immediately told of the approximate wait time and given the option to reschedule. If the patient decides to stay, the clinic would use the patient’s time as productively as possible, offering small group appointments for chronic condition check ins and preventive care appointments, such as a flu vaccination. Each clinic would work out a standard set of actions that would benefit a range of patients, based on their particular health needs.

To make this chain of activity seamless, everyone in the clinic would need to be involved. Clinics would need to identify what tasks could be done. Developing this workflow should create increased satisfaction by patients and clinic staff—even when appointments get behind—will be how we know that a long wait time doesn’t really feel like waiting.

 

What does a pilot test of this Flip look like to you? Are you ready to put your plan in action? Become a pilot site and join this Flip team!

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