Tired of wasting precious holiday time in the office? We have some simple steps you can take to improve your practice efficiency in the new year.
Maximize pre-appointment time:
- Are you using your time to its full advantage? Do you connect with your patients before appointments? Treating a patient does not begin at the office: control the information your patient has access to and educate them before you meet.
- Are you making sure patients are prepared for their appointment beforehand? Make sure they know to bring in a form of payment, insurance cards (medical and vision), any medications, lenses and solutions. By confirming a patient is prepared before they step foot in your door, you are assuring a more efficient appointment.
Consider automating:
- Appointment scheduling, outlining payment, and distributing health information can easily be done through your EHR. By automating simple steps in your practice, you can streamline appointment time, allowing you to see more patients and preventing office congestion.
- By mechanizing these repetitive and continual tasks such as appointment confirmations and reminders, you can save your employees an hour-a-day on the phone obtaining information that one email or text can collect in less than a minute.
Train your personnel:
- Outlining what information to acquire pre-appointment and teaching your personnel the correct questions to ask will eliminate unnecessary waiting time.
Simplify your forms:
- When was the last time you reviewed the questions you ask your patient? Are they all necessary? By evaluating your forms and deleting unnecessary questions, you will save minutes on each appointment, giving more time in your day.
Embrace technology to save time:
- As we all integrate different technologies into our daily lives, so should your practice strive to do the same. Upgrading to high-tech equipment and instruments increases exam accuracy and shows the patient your practice is up-to-date and modern.
- Do you use patient education solutions? Patient education platforms such as Eyemaginations Echo allow you to not only teach your patients when he/she is in your office, but everywhere they are thinking about their health. You can email patients pre-visit, educate them in the exam room, send an email home reinforcing the visit, and encourage them to share information with their friends and family. According to data from the Pew Internet Project, 72 percent of online U.S. adults reported using social networking sites as of May this year. Take advantage of social media to share videos about information pertinent to your patients’ health and to clarify what is said in their appointment. Because your patient isn’t just thinking about their health in the exam lane, taking a few seconds to send out an email or share a video could save minutes of explanation and questions when you are sitting with your patient.
This holiday season, we all want to maximize our time so we can concentrate on what is important: our friends, family, and loved ones. You only have so much time for festivities, why not make the most of it! This year, give yourself the best present of all: time.