Virtually every patient satisfaction survey reveals patients’ dissatisfaction with getting through on the phone to their healthcare provider. Phone trees should be a helpful bridge not an impenetrable wall. Careful planning and utilizing phone tree best practices improve your system and your patient satisfaction. When is the last time you called your office phone … [Read more...] about Phone Tree Best Practices
Building the Office
Health Care User Experience
We all know the health care system is broken, and that every aspect of the patient journey needs to be overhauled, optimized, and made tolerable (enjoyable might be asking too much). Unfortunately, the journey and daily activity for physicians, nurses, administrators, technologists, and schedulers needs the same level of change. Enhancing the patient experience cannot come at … [Read more...] about Health Care User Experience
Managing Provider-Initiated Appointment Cancellations
Provider-Initiated Appointment Cancellations arise when the provider will not be available for the encounter. These can occur for many reasons including illness, family obligations, vacation, office closures (for the weather, COVID-19, or the provider being needed elsewhere). Even when planned far in advance these reasons for cancellation can still easily affect the yearly … [Read more...] about Managing Provider-Initiated Appointment Cancellations
SP Complains Publicly About the Practice
SP has been a patient in the practice for several years and comes once a year for refills; he rarely calls. Recently, SP’s appointment had to be canceled, and as a result, he has run out of refills. SP’s work schedule is such that he usually schedules his appointments for Friday afternoon. He called the Friday afternoon after the canceled appointment for refills and heard a … [Read more...] about SP Complains Publicly About the Practice
COVID-19 Will Change the Medical Workspace: Back Office Design
Our offices probably never will be the same after COVID-19 and in truth, our practices shouldn’t be the same. In fact, our offices should have been better designed all along instead of being left as they were because that was just how it was done. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a wave of change upon us. Let’s make sure the change is meaningful and important. Let's use it to … [Read more...] about COVID-19 Will Change the Medical Workspace: Back Office Design