New Scheduling Templates Evaluated in Outpatient Setting

A new scheduling template appeared to improve efficiency in an outpatient ophthalmic clinic, according to a recent analysis. 

Investigators simulated outpatient ophthalmology clinic workflow and tested new scheduling templates designed to decrease patient wait time and improve clinic efficiency. Among the results:

• Implementation was a challenge.
• Once implemented, the templates improved patient wait time and clinic session length.  

The authors concluded that use of the templates provided insight into new policies that can help manage the complexities of schedule filling, meeting patient demand, and minimizing wait time. 

Hribar M, Read-Brown S, Reznick L, Chiang MF. Evaluating and improving an outpatient clinic scheduling template using secondary electronic health record data. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2018;2017:921-929.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29854159