Patient flow is a key component of doctor, dentist and physician practices. To provide better care and more efficient systems, there is a new solution that’s easy to use and very effective…
If you search, “How to streamline my patient flow” you get roughly 200,000 results on Google. That’s too many to go through in a lifetime. Break that down into several subcategories and the results are still pretty overwhelming.
Do Status Flag Systems Work?
One option people consider is status flags. The number of companies offering flags is almost as abundant as the number of patient flow results. The system requires the least amount of resources to install and maintain, however, they also provide the least amount of gain to your patient flow due to staff inefficiency. They are considered archaic and a solution better left to the past.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Another option is EHRs.
EHRs offer training modules for patient tracking, which are used to help providers with their transition to paperless. They attempt to track the whereabouts and status of each patient throughout the course of their visit.
An article by ModernMedicine describes it best. “It's typical for practice workflows to slow by as much as 50% during an EHR implementation.”
This is common knowledge and understandable as practices make the transition. However, “When asked in the most recent survey, ‘has the software implementation negatively affected your patient flow?’ 60% of the respondents answered yes, up 2% from a previous survey conducted in June 2012. This trend has been increasing and is consistent with our findings.”
EHR’s are here to stay. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will ensure that, but Stage 2 of “Meaningful Use” has been pushed back a year and the percent of providers with negatively affected patient flow has increased.
Is there another option when it comes to improving my patient flow?
Modern Efficiency: Electronic Lighting System
YES.
A custom-designed, computer-based network of easy-to-use light panels that simply and efficiently manage patient flow and as a bonus also locates personnel, and improves overall communications, all of which are within your budget.
For more, setup your free consultation today.