Practice Management Alert

Without everyone in the practice on board, your protocols might not work.

There are several consequences of leaving unplanned “gaps” in the practice’s appointment schedule when a patient cancels. It can affect patient care, and cost the practice thousands. These results could have far-reaching effects for patients and employees of the practice.

Problem: Sometimes, it’s difficult to get the entire staff to realize they need to work as a unit to try and fill unscheduled gaps. 

“It has to be a goal of the practice to keep the schedule full and active,” says Harlene S. Stevens, CPA, a manager at Nisivoccia LLP in Mt. Arlington, N.J. In order to get staff motivated for the task, providers and practice managers need staff buy-in, Stevens continues.

Suggestion: Remind staff of the following points if you need to hammer home the need to establish protocols to follow for filling spots in the schedule:

“Practice staff [should] be cognizant of the fact that the income that pays their salary and benefits comes from only one place: revenue generated by the physicians and nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) seeing and treating patients,” explains Jean Acevedo, LHRM, CPC, CHC, CENTC, president and senior consultant with Acevedo Consulting Incorporated in Delray Beach, Fla. 

While it might seem easier to just let an open appointment slot or two remain empty, revenues could decline if it becomes a regular occurrence, explains Acevedo.

According to Erica J. Sprey, associate editor at Physicians Practice in Minneapolis, scheduling gaps can also:

• negatively affect staffing levels due to lost revenue;
• prevent urgently sick patients from seeing the physician in a timely manner; and
• make poor use of physician/provider time. 

Another effect it could have is longer-lasting: a creeping malaise that could lead to an indifference toward holes in the schedule.

“I’ve seen practices struggle with this issue. The ‘gaps’ … actually become habit-forming,” reports Stevens. 

Best bet: Form a plan in advance for filling canceled appointments, and dodge any obstacles with staff buy-in.