Are you looking for a way to improve your infusion center management? If so, you may be looking at your patient flow, wondering what you need to do to make this better. If you can improve your scheduling process, you may see more patients in a day. This can generate more revenue while also meeting the needs of your patients. You can also improve your patient satisfaction scores, which can have a direct impact on your bottom line. Therefore, it is important to follow a few best practices for infusion center scheduling. What do you need to do if you want to improve the scheduling situation at your infusion center?
Give Your Schedulers Some Guidance
The first thing you need to do is give your scheduling team some guidance. For example, there are a lot of doctors’ offices that operate on a first-come, first-served basis. This may not necessarily be the best approach for your infusion center. Some patients will spend a much longer time in the chair than others. Therefore, they will need a longer appointment slot. On the other hand, there are some patients who can get in and out quickly. It may be helpful to create different appointment slots for different types of patience. That way, you will have an easier time estimating when someone will be finished, allowing you to fill that chair without leaving a large gap.
Use Data To Drive Your Decisions
Next, you need to use data to drive your decisions. Take a look at your historical information. How many patients do you usually see on a given day? How long is the average appointment slot? Then, you should use this information to project forward in time. How many patients do you think you will see on a daily basis in the future? Do you see a seasonal flow in your patients? This can help you create an adequate number of appointment slots. This can also help you estimate when you might need to purchase more equipment. If you use objective information to drive your decision-making process, you can maximize the use of your resources while keeping your patients happy.
Correlate Staff To Patient Volumes
Furthermore, you need to correlate the number of staff you have in the office to your patient volumes. You do not want to have staff members on-site if you do not need them. On the other hand, if you have a staff shortage, you can create a patient bottleneck at the infusion center because you are not able to see them in a timely manner. Make sure you schedule staff several weeks in advance. Take a look at your projected patient volumes and make sure you have enough people to meet the needs of your patients. If you have the right patient-to-staff ratio, you can optimize your efficiency while minimizing your overhead expenses.
Create a Continuing Education Process at the Center
Finally, you need to create a continuing education process at the infusion center. You should re-evaluate your scheduling process from time to time. That way, you can make changes when necessary. You should also put your staff members through continuing education as well. You may have new software programs to roll out, and you may need to make changes in your scheduling situation. If you can train your staff members on these issues, you can optimize the efficiency of your infusion center. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of thing. You need to reevaluate your processes routinely.
Improve Your Patient Scheduling Situation
These are a few of the many tips to follow when it comes to improving your infusion center scheduling situation. It can be a challenge to schedule patients efficiently at an infusion center; however, as long as you use objective data to guide you, you should have an easier time maximizing the number of patients you can see on a given day. Remember that your top priority has to be providing exceptional patient care. If you consistently put the needs of your patients first, the rest will take care of itself. If you need help improving the scheduling situation that your infusion center, reach out to a professional who can help you.
