Creating a Strong Scheduling Architecture by Susan Fenwick

How quantity can affect quality
It’s also important to consistently keep track of the demands that come with the overall number of patients being seen.

No good comes from being understaffed and trying to see more patients than the staff can realistically handle. Hiring additional clinicians is well worth the cost if it expands practice capacity, ensures employees aren’t overworked and keeps team chemistry intact.

Another key factor is choosing the right person to handle scheduling for the office, and ensuring that person is properly trained. He or she should easily and effectively communicate with patients, have an in-depth understanding of how the schedule has been set up, and know best practices regarding patient flow.

Once a robust schedule template is in place and the proper employee base trained to carry it out, the next step in building a solid scheduling architecture is removing unnecessary appointments. Often a previously decided-upon standard leads to appointments that are unnecessary or redundant. Here are three suggestions for removing such appointments:

Space out patient appointments to approximately eight weeks. This can seem unrealistic for some, but this time frame should be an end goal. If adjustments made to patients are optimized, it is definitely attainable.

Minimize the number of follow-up appointments after a patient has completed treatment. For cases such as retainer checks, if you inform patients of what to expect after the conclusion of treatment, multiple follow-up appointments won’t be necessary.

Properly inform patients of what is considered an “emergency.” If time is being spent taking care of patients who have made emergency appointments but could have taken steps to manage the issues on their own, it can cause undesirable setbacks in patient flow.

While it may not be ideal, those unexpected appointments happen. Leave a small amount of room in the schedule for such appointments, which can prevent the need for any after-hours appointments. This is important for team and workplace morale, as well as productivity. The amount of room made in the schedule for these occurrences varies depending on patient volume, but when patients are educated, the number of spaces for emergency appointments can be reduced.

Benefits of a powerful scheduling architecture
An effective scheduling architecture can help your practice progress toward the goals you have set. As a schedule template is reworked, it will become more evident that efficiency will lead to increased revenue. A streamlined schedule results in more patients being seen, and additional room for growth. Additionally, it can lead to a satisfied and productive team.

Correcting potential mistakes that are part of the current schedule means that overworked employees and trying to catch up throughout the day will be a thing of the past. Team morale will improve, and so will the patient experience.

It’s important to remember that scheduling architecture is a living, breathing thing: As the practice changes and grows, so will the need for an improved scheduling process. Continue to regularly evaluate this process and make sure the schedule template is meeting the needs of the practice. Don’t wait to begin the development of a schedule architecture suited for you!

Susan Fenwick has worked in the orthodontic field for more than 20 years, specializing in finance and management. She currently is a part of the practice development team at OrthoSynetics. When working with clients, Fenwick emphasizes management, communication and organizational skills; assesses overall operational conditions; uses initiative to provide strong leadership and guidance and troubleshoots problems to provide solutions.