Consider a Cheat Sheet for Scheduling Staff
Question: I’m a provider who performs minor in-office procedures. I’ve had a few situations where a patient comes in with a complaint that is best addressed with a certain procedure, but their appointment was not made with that procedure in mind. For example, a patient has skin sensitivity and wants a patch test, which requires a follow-up in 48 hours, but they were scheduled for a Thursday and our office is closed on Saturdays. The patient left the appointment frustrated. How can I best avoid this happening in the future? Ohio Subscriber Answer: If you’re a provider, you can ask your practice manager to help schedulers understand what procedures your office performs and which need special attention when scheduling. Scheduling staff should know which questions to ask patients when making an appointment. For example, for an allergist, a scheduler could ask a patient why specifically they’re coming in. While scheduling staff don’t have clinical knowledge and shouldn’t make clinical decisions, a few basic questions can help put the patient on the right track to have their issue addressed on an appropriate timeline. Your scheduling staff may also find it helpful to have a cheat sheet with common patient conditions and concerns, regularly performed procedures, and ideal timing for different encounter types. Then schedulers would have the information on hand to schedule patients correctly from the first appointment, possibly boosting patient satisfaction, instead of requiring them to come back. Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Production Editor, AAPC
