Scheduling and
Appointments
Jeff Steele, LDO, ABOC, CPOT
Spokane Community College
Objectives
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List basic rules for appointment book entries
Describe modified wave scheduling
Discuss functions of daily schedule
Demonstrate making appointment book
entries and completing appointment card
entries
Overview
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There was a time when a crowded reception
room was a sign of a busy doctor and
successful practice
Today, this is no longer true, as today’s
patient’s are no longer willing to wait
endlessly
For most patients 15 minutes is the maximum
acceptable wait!
Start and finish ON TIME!
Appointment Book
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Although the appointment book is the control center
of the practice, it is important that the practice be
controlled through it- but not by it!
In today’s practice, most appointment books are
computerized, making it easier and faster to:
Search for available time
Look up appointments in response to an inquiry
Generate and revise a printed daily schedule
Essential Information
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The following must be included w/ every
appointment made:
Patient’s full name
Telephone numbers at home and work
Reason for visit, which will help to determine
how long the appointment will last as well as
to what extent the doctor’s and technician’s
time will be involved
Effective Scheduling
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Effective appointment scheduling assures a
smooth flow of patients so that all staff
members can work efficiently and at a
maximum productivity without being rushed
or falling behind
Effective scheduling is based on knowing
what is to be done and how long it is
expected to take
Classification
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One way to effectively schedule is to
classify appointments into three groups:
Long time-consuming procedures (visual
field testing, contact lens training)
Intermediate procedures (most routine
examinations)
Brief procedures (contact lens checks)
Modified Wave Scheduling
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This system controls patient flow based on the
average number of patients that the doctor sees per
hour (this can be determined by tracking the # of
patients typically seen from past appointment books)
This number is divided by the number of hours
worked, resulting in an average number of patients
the doctor sees per hour:
½ scheduled at the beginning of the hour
Of the remaining patients, 2/3 scheduled at 20
minutes past the hour and the remaining 1/3 at forty
past the hour
The First Wave
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At the top of the hour, one patient of each
category is typically schedule
1 long term procedure
1 intermediate procedure
1 quick procedure
The doctor can typically work with the quick
procedure patient while the techs prepare the
other two
The Second Wave
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Schedule an intermediate and brief
procedure
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While the intermediate procedure is being
prepared, the brief procedure patient can be
seen
The Third Wave
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A brief patient is scheduled, so the patient’s a
cleared out by the top of the hour and a new wave
can begin
Example:
8:00 Mr. Jones for visual field testing (long)
8:00 Mrs. Smith for annual exam (inter)
8:00 Mrs. Marks for contact check (brief)
8:20 Mr. Howard diabetes follow-up exam (inter)
8:20 Miss Byrd for Rx check (brief)
8:40 Mrs. Meyer for contact check (brief)
Confirmation Calls
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One of the biggest obstacles to scheduling is
a patient who fails to keep their appointment
It is an excellent to confirm their appointment
with a complimentary confirmation call the
day or two before their appointment
It should be noted on the schedule
that the appointment was confirmed
Advance Appointment
Preparation
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Prior to the patient’s arrival, their files should
be pulled, including all necessary forms and
paperwork, so the patient can be seen right
away
It is usually best to store the files in the order
the patient will be seen
Changed Appointments
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An office the consistently runs behind, is
discourteous to the patients. If patient’s are
consistently seen late, expect them to begin
arriving late (assuming they continue to arrive
at all!)
For chronically late patients, inform them their
appointment is15 minutes prior to its actual
scheduled time!
Cancelled/Broken
Appointments
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When a patient calls to cancel an
appointment, make every effort to reschedule
them for another time, as soon as possible
It is often asked that you keep a cancellation
list, or log, tracking the patient’s that have
cancelled their appointments
Broken appointments should also be
contacted and rescheduled ASAP