Express windows move patients quickly
Process frees up front desk staff
When patients at the East Albany (GA) Medical Center are scheduled for a quick blood pressure check, tetanus shot, or blood test, they no longer have to sit in the waiting room to see a provider. Instead, they go to the Nurse Express or Lab Express window and ring a bell, and a nurse or lab technician takes care of them in a hurry.
The lab and the Nurse Express nurse receive pre-printed forms each morning alerting them to who is coming for what procedure each day. "Before, the front desk was inundated with everything, and patients had to wait for routine procedures. Now patients are in and out in a brief time," Malcolm says.
The clinic uses the old triage room for the nurse express. The nurse who staffs it works with a physician assistant who handles only walk-in patients and can call in the PA if needed. For instance, the PA would be called in if the patient’s blood pressure was elevated. "We often treat people right there and we use it for quick treatments. If someone comes in with a sore throat, we see them then and there and get them out," Malcolm says.
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