You have heard the expression, "don't put the cart before the horse." According to Have a Nice Day - No Problem! , this cliché probably dates back to the time when horses were first used to draw wheeled vehicles. It's meaning?..."Don't reverse the natural order of things." In the world of management, we could interpret it to mean, "You can't possibly be efficient, unless you are first organized." With that thought in mind, following are some suggestions to help you (and staff) organize the practice workspace, starting with my favorite:
- O.H.I.O - A stately acronym that advises you to Only Handle It Once. Eliminate doing the "paper shuffle" (moving things from one pile to another). It is a waste of time and energy. File it, Pay it, dump it, or delegate it; but don't handle it more than once.
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- Have a surgery flow sheet that allows you to fill in patient demographics, diagnosis & codes, procedures & codes, special instruments needed, times, precertification info, etc. With all this necessary information in one place, everything is right at your fingertips when scheduling procedures with the hospital/surgery center.
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- Check with insurance companies ahead of time so you know what you can and cannot collect at time of service. Patients appreciate your research and when it comes to collecting your money...this knowledge is power!
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- It is also beneficial to give your patients some responsibility where their insurance coverage is concerned... Prepare a guide sheet to help them when calling to check their own benefits.
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- Prepare your office/treatment room layout in a way that will save you steps; e.g. if you are a "southpaw", your cabinet/instruments should be on your left to avoid unnecessary reaching. The credit card and fax machines (that are used daily) should be at the front desk...not in a room close by.
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- Use colored "out" folders in filing system to mark and locate a missing chart; organizes and cuts down on filing time.
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- Keep a daily (DATED) telephone log (could be an ordinary notebook) to record all incoming messages. It serves as a means of documentation, a reliable reference, a follow-up reminder list of things you needed to do, organizes all your phone calls in one place (eliminates sticky notes that wind up everywhere) thereby reducing clutter.
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- Organize and control your orthotic flow and Diabetic Shoe dispensing by keeping a log of all patients, including a "preferred" patient phone (where they can best be reached). This list monitors orthotic and shoe flow, serves as a dispensing check list, becomes an easy contact list when calling patients as well as an automatic recall list.
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- Better organize your daily schedule by calling your patients to remind them of their appointments. At the same time, keep a "waiting list" so that when patients change or cancel, you can fill in those empty appointments.
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- Get better control of your schedule by reserving the appropriate amount of time needed for each procedure. Prepare a sheet with all check-off boxes to indicate when to re-appointment this patient, why (times are already assigned to each procedure) and if any products were dispensed. This is handed to your patients to present to the front desk staff upon discharge. It not only gives your patients a reason to stop at the desk (before bolting out the door) to take care of any payments incurred from their visit, but also emphasizes the importance of making their next appointment now (as opposed to "I'll call you").
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