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Workflow Tips For Providers

Date: 10/24/17

Some studies indicate that as much as 40 percent of clinical office work can be reduced just by improving workflows in your practice with tips like these from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement:

  • Document the encounter during or immediately after the appointment. One way to accomplish this is to add a few minutes to each appointment length or to block five or ten minute “breaks” between appointments. This will give you a little extra time to complete your documentation. In addition, this allows you to document the encounter while the details are still fresh in your mind.
  • Complete exam room evaluations at the end of each day. Create a list of items required in each exam room, and designate someone on your staff to evaluate equipment and re-stock supplies in each exam room at the end of the day. This will help to prevent delays due to non-working or unavailable equipment and supplies when caring for your patients the following day.
  • Track the flow of information through your practice. Tracking how efficiently and quickly information flows through your practice allows you to identify opportunities to improve. For example, document the time and staff members involved in processing a request for a prescription refill. Start with the time the request is received and end with the time that the prescription is written or transmitted and include all staff who involved in the process. Then reduce the number of steps and people needed to process such requests in the future.
  • Reduce bottlenecks with continuous flow. Completing tasks as they occur eliminates bottlenecks created by saving multiple tasks for a future time in the day. For example, instead of saving all telephone calls, documentation and refill requests for the end of the day, allot small time slots throughout the day to address these tasks to ensure that workflow is continuous and streamlined.
  • Prepare for tomorrow’s patients today. Reviewing the charts of patients scheduled for appointments the following day helps you to prepare for an efficient day. It enables you to identify patients who may need certain preventive services or who have care gaps that need to be addressed. Having this information in advance of the patients’ appointments allows you to be prepared to provide those services.

Want more tips?

For more tips and strategies to streamline workflow in your practice, check out these from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Practice Facilitation Handbook from the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research and Quality.

Our network providers can also contact their dedicated Provider Consultants to assist with workflow tasks such as using our electronic solutions on prior authorizations, claims submissions and member eligibility and to schedule training on how to use our secure provider portal to assess care gap reports and other helpful data.