Question | Answer |
What is the most important information to have when scheduling appointments? | Physicians availability |
List the information you should obtain from the patient when scheduling an appointment | Name, Phone number, insurance information, reason for visit |
Name three systems for office appointments and briefly explain each | 1. Scheduled Appointments- Most effective
2. Flexible hours- different hours/ Different days
3. Open scheduling- no appointment/ walk in |
List three ways to remind patients about a scheduled appointment | 1. call day before
2.appointment card
3.post card |
Explain why an appointment book should leave some open time slots available | Emergencies and new patients |
List three factors taken into consideration when scheduling appointments | 1. Doctors preference
2. Availability of equipment
3. Patients Needs |
Describe what to look for when selecting and appointment book | Needs to open flat, be proper size for office desk, needs to have room for all patient information |
Explain "establishing the matrix" | Advanced preparation,blocking out times the Doctor is available |
Describe "buffer time" | Doctors preference- their break- usually 10 to 15 min |
Explain group/cluster scheduling | Groups same types of appointments on certain days. |
Name two things that would be helpful to a patient who needs to schedule a series of appointments | Schedule appointments on same day and same time.
Give them an appointment card |
What is the main purpose of appointment scheduling | To make the best use of effective time management |
List two things that effective time management accomplishes | 1. Best use of the staffs time
2. Allows for emergencies |
What is the most important thing to remember when keeping an appointment book | Its a legal document |
What is the best way to schedule appointments for a patient who is habitually late for their appointment | Give them the last appointment of the day.
Call them to remind them |
Give two reasons why the use of appointment cards avoid misunderstandings | 1. Save on time consuming phone calls.
2. Prevent errors |
Who will ultimately determine whether a patients symptoms constitute an emergency | The Doctor |
Define "Triage" | Prioritizing patients based on their medical needs |
Define double booking | When you put two patients in at the same time |
Define wave scheduling | When three patients are scheduled for the same hour then seen in order of arrival |
Define modified wave scheduling | When two patients are scheduled on the hour and one on the half hour |
Define open scheduling | No appointment- Seen on order of arrival |
Define flexible hours scheduling | Different hours on different days |
How long are new patient appointments | One Hour |
How long are appointments for injections and suture removals? | 15 minutes |
How long are all other appointments? | 30 minutes |