Patient Workflow Calculator Project - Preview


  • Process Management
  • Other Process Factors
  • Real World Application
  • Future Implementation
  • Feedback

A good problem to have is finding yourself having to hire new staff because of practice growth.

Process Management
I have observed and worked in multiple practices and I've come to understand that practice workflows differ from practice to practice.  The reasons why they differ is usually because of:
  • pretesting equipment
  • staffing
  • responsibility delegation
  • training
Some opticians are cross-trained in pretesting, some offices have dedicated pretesters, or some
doctors prefer to take VAs and health history themselves.  Personally, I try to take a look at practice management from a logically and holistic perspective and take into account multiple factors:
  • Doctor/owner preference
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Doctor Satisfaction
By taking those factors into account you can determine a appropriate workflow efficiency using process management.
Other Process Factors
New integration/software features may increase charting, but may decrease dispensary processing times.  New staffing will offload tasks from other staff members. Trying to comprehend how each change affects your workflow is almost impossible to do without a good amount of critical thinking, logic, and (of course, for me) spreadsheets.
Real World Application
Currently, our practice is looking to hire a pretester but it is hard to visualize the impact it has on doctor & optician patient load.  I am currently working on a spreadsheet that will allow us to easily break down our process management and help visualize the workload allocation, exam times, and, more importantly, patient estimated in-office time.
Preview
Future Implementations
I am planning on creating an anonymous questionnaire, which will give you the option to email you automatic calculations of the above spreadsheet.  I still have to work out the calculations and details. (preview)
About The Calculator & Feedback
The calculator spreadsheet is still in CLOSED TESTING.  I don’t know if something like this currently exists, but please let me know if it does (so I can stop wasting my time on it).  

 The last project I released as a public BETA, MBA Key Metrics Spreadsheet, I was looking to create a collaborative environment with practice management experts and ODs to create a free and powerful tool that all ODs can use.  The MBA Key Metrics Spreadsheet, is the backbone of many of my future projects (this Patient Workflow Calculator references “Complete Ex per OD hr”) and because of this, I will be releasing this and all future beta projects to the public as soon as that is complete.

Most of the calculator features displayed above are pretty straightforward and easily recreated (feel free).  If you have any suggestions I would love to hear your suggestions and feedback by commenting below, tweeting me: @caquinoconsult , or any other social media options on www.charlesaquino.com .  

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