Six common causes for office backlogs
If your office has a constant backlog of patients waiting for appointments and waiting to see the doctors once they arrive, here are some potential problem spots:
1. Appointment scheduling.
Some practices schedule in 20-minute time slots regardless of why patients are coming in, and despite the fact that some physicians work less quickly than others. This can cause backlogs and idle time for physicians, says Julie Elmore Jones, MBA, MHA, a consultant with Gates, Moore and Co. in Atlanta.
2. Inappropriate staffing.
Where the staffing problem lies is unique for each practice, Jones says. It may be that there are too many people in checkout and not enough lab technicians to handle the volume of laboratory procedures. Or it could be that physicians can’t complete their examinations in a timely manner because there aren’t enough medical assistants.
"They’re flipping on the light, and no one is there to assist them. Instead of having everything they need, the physicians have to go and get it themselves," Jones says.
3. Inefficient handling of medical records.
Sometimes the patient gets to the exam room long before the medical record. This leaves the physicians standing around with nothing to do. "It’s extraordinarily wasteful and expensive and upsetting for the physicians," Jones says.
4. Double- and triple-booking.
Booking several patients for one appointment time may seem like a good solution, but if all patients show up at the same time, you get even further behind.
5. Delayed test results.
These may be caused by a backup in the on-site lab or communications problems with the off-site lab.
6. Inefficient use of physicians’ time.
Some delays occur when a physician has to spend time on patient care issues that don’t need a physician’s attention, according to Doug Hough, PhD, partner at Arista Associates in Fairfax, VA.
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