(Digested from the November 4, 2005 issue of Medical Economics)
Some physicians are the first to leave the office each day. Others are buried with stacks of charts and piles of messages with family dinners a distant memory.
Here are some suggestions from a family physician who has learned to make his day more efficient.
1. The early bird gets to see the patient. Make your hospital rounds early before patients are taken for tests and family members arrive to interrupt you. Talk with radiologists and lab personnel before tests are given to avoid the daytime calls of "What are you looking for?"
2. Scan your appointments and charts. Keep on top of your appointment schedule. If a talkative patient is scheduled for 4:30, see if they can be move up to 2:00. Make sure there are a few open slots for quick visit or last minute patients. Avoid using exam rooms as waiting rooms.
3. Save time on Rx's, calls and referrals. For multiple medication patients, pick one or two key medications and limit refills to only cover them until the next visit. Other meds should be given six months or a year of refills. Have your staff qualify incoming phone calls and call-back requests. As for referrals to specialists, phone calls are quicker than dictating letters.
4. Decide how you want to spend your time. If you jot down a good history when talking with a patient and are scrupulous about writing down tests, prescriptions and follow-up, you can select the time when you want to complete the charts.
Above all, each physician must make the personal decision about where to spend their free time รข€“ with the family and other personal pursuits or chained to the office. Once that decision is made, activities can be prioritized and procedures developed to protect the personal time.
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