Appointment Management Systems

CHAPTER 13


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Appointment Management Systems



Learning Objectives


Mastery of the content in this chapter will enable the reader to:


• List factors that affect appointment scheduling.


• Effectively make appointments.


• Identify appointment cards.


• Discuss the importance of reminding clients of upcoming appointments.


• List methods used to increase the production and efficiency of the team by managing appointments.


• List methods used to manage clients who walk into the practice with minor emergencies.



Key Terms



Veterinary practices can use an appointment system or accept clients on a walk-in basis; most veterinary practices prefer appointments. A variation of both may work best for some hospitals. Appointments can help control the amount of traffic flow through the veterinary clinic at a given time. All team members should be available on days that the appointments are fully booked, whereas slower times require less staff. It is important to create a schedule that is going to keep the practice running on schedule for appointments; a client’s time is just as



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Appointments can help control the amount of client traffic in a hospital at any one time.


valuable as the doctor’s time, and finding a medium between the two will contribute to a successful practice.


Walk-in practices allow clients to come into the clinic when it is convenient for them. However, this can decrease the efficiency of the team and prevents the regulation of traffic flow. Client wait times will increase, and team burnout will occur quickly. It is important to look at both the advantages and disadvantages of walk-ins versus appointments and decide what is best for the practice, considering both the team and the clients. The goals of an appointment system should be to maximize productivity, reduce staff tension, and control traffic flow through the veterinary hospital, all while maintaining concern for client and patient needs.


For those practices wishing to convert from a walk-in structure to appointment structure, the transition can be relatively easy. Clients are easy to train and will adapt to the new structure. A client newsletter or brochure can be sent to all clients indicating the change. The information contained in this newsletter or brochure can state the advantages to the client of the transition (Figures 13-1 and 13-2). Attractively framed posters in the reception area and exam rooms can also educate clients of the change. Once clients realize that this a better option for them, they will gladly embrace the transition.


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FIGURE 13-1 Hanging a “Now Accepting Appointments” sign in the practice encourages clients to adapt to the change in the practice.

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FIGURE 13-2 A postcard is a great way to let clients know about changes in the practice.


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Clients can be informed of implementation of an appointment schedule by newsletters and postcards.


Some clinics prefer a slow transition, whereas others prefer to change immediately. Appointments can start slowly; they can be made in the mornings while walk-ins can be seen in the afternoons. This can continue for several months until appointments can be integrated into the entire day. Once appointments are scheduled throughout the day, slots can be left available for those walk-ins that have not adjusted to the change. When these clients return, they will know to make an appointment.


Those practices that integrate appointments immediately must schedule and allow for a large number of walk-ins for a short period of time. Once the clients have become trained, the amount of time set aside for walk-ins can be reduced. Walk-ins should never be turned away. If it appears that the wait time will be lengthy, team members can offer the client the opportunity to drop off the pet; the owner will be called when the patient is ready.


During the transition, team members will make mistakes; this can be a positive learning experience for all members. Teamwork, communication, and training among staff and clients will minimize the effect of these mistakes and will prevent errors from occurring in the future.



PAPER VERSUS SOFTWARE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULE


Some smaller veterinary practices have used a paper appointment schedule book with success and continue to do so. A book may work well with a one-doctor practice, but as practices continue to grow in the number of veterinarians on staff, appointment books can become difficult to manage and share when multiple clients are waiting to make appointments (Figure 13-3).


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FIGURE 13-3 Sample paper schedule.

If a paper appointment book is preferred, studies indicate that a week-at-a-glance style works best. It will depend on the size of the veterinary practice as to what size of book to purchase, the number of columns, and appropriate appointment time slots. For example, a smaller one-doctor practice may use three columns per day. One column can be designated for the doctor’s appointments, one column for technician appointments, and another for surgery. A larger number of veterinarians would require more columns.


Software appointment schedulers can be accessed from any computer in the clinic, thereby allowing multiple users to make appointments. This can increase the efficiency of the staff; one team member can make a surgery appointment while another can make an appointment for a yearly exam (Figures 13-4 and 13-5). Access from multiple computers can have one disadvantage. Multiple team members may be viewing one appointment slot available, and when they click on the appointment to secure it, another team member may have already booked it. This is only a minor disadvantage compared with the number of benefits that appointment software can provide.


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FIGURE 13-4 Sample software schedule. An appointment summary schedule appears on the left, along with a detailed view of Dr. A’s appointments (right).

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FIGURE 13-5 Sample screen from Avimark’s appointment calendar. (Courtesy McAllister Software Systems, Piedmont, Mo.)

Software appointment schedulers have far more features than just scheduling appointments. When a team



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Veterinary appointment software has several advantages that will help increase team efficiency and organization.


member fills an appointment slot with a current client, the software can show alerts reminding the team of overdue vaccinations, tests, previous no-show appointments, or a poor credit status. When the client account is accessed, all pets owned by that client will be available, and all overdue reminders will show. This allows the reception team to either schedule an appointment for multiple patients owned by the same client or remind the owner of the overdue condition (Figure 13-6).


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FIGURE 13-6 Sample overdue reminders in a software system.

If a client chooses to cancel or move an appointment, software allows the receptionist to cut and paste, keeping all pertinent information together. The receptionist will not have to retype or misinterpret information.


Software allows the veterinary practice to become proactive, instead of reactive, to client needs. Proactive service begins before the client walks in the door. The client is satisfied with the ability to make an appointment, the time available, and the ability to make an appointment with the veterinarian he or she wanted to see. Reactive service is taking care of the client after he or she is upset. Perhaps the client had to wait too long, was dissatisfied with the service, or did not get to make an appointment. Appointment scheduling software can only enhance the experience of a client and make it a more pleasant experience. If the practice is technology proficient and is able to use online Web portals, clients can make their own appointments. New trends show that clients take care of personal business online and prefer to shop, search for information, and make appointments online when possible.



image PRACTICE POINT


Many factors affect appointment scheduling, and all must be considered to keep appointments running as scheduled.


Every veterinary practice software program has an appointment scheduler available, which should be used to its maximum potential. Systems provided by different software companies will have both advantages and disadvantages and vary in their efficiency. Each version of software should be demonstrated before purchase. This will allow the practice to determine which software will integrate best with the practice. User friendliness and compatibility of the programs should top the list of items when looking for software. Refer to Chapter 8 for more information and guidelines on software selection for a veterinary practice.



DESIGNING THE APPOINTMENT BOOK TEMPLATE


The template is the outline of the appointment book and must be established before using a new system. Next, factors that affect appointment scheduling must be considered. The hours the clinic is open should be entered into the template first. This includes when the practice opens, closes for lunch, and closes in the evenings as well as any weekend hours. If the practice closes for weekly staff meetings, that should also be entered into the template. Holidays must be added into the system because most systems do not automatically recognize closed holidays. Permanent flex time should also be added so that employees cannot accidentally remove or book an appointment in a slot that has extra time built in. Generally, a practice manager or owner creates the template and is the only one who has access to modify it.


There are many factors that come into play when developing an appointment schedule. There is no written rule stating how many appointments should be seen or how long appointments should last. Schedules vary with each practice, and the team determines what is best for both clients and staff. Appointment layout can change as the practice grows and team members identify problems with the current schedule. Once an appointment system has been integrated, it must be aggressively managed. Appointment times, availability, length of time, and available team members should be monitored and revised on a regular basis. When developing a scheduling system, the following factors should be taken into consideration.




Veterinary Technician Appointments


Some appointments can be scheduled for a technician alone, thereby leaving an appointment slot available for a producing doctor. Nail trims, suture removals, weight-management rechecks, and anal gland expressions (among many other tasks) can be scheduled with a credentialed or skilled veterinary technician (Figure 13-8). This allows veterinarians to continue to see clients who need to have a diagnosis made. Technicians can always ask a veterinarian for help if they have a question about the case.


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FIGURE 13-8 Two technicians perform a nail trim.

Related posts:

  1. Veterinary Ethics and Legal Issues
  2. Controlled Substances
  3. Outside Diagnostic Laboratory Services
  4. Technology in the Office

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Oct 1, 2016 | Posted by in EXOTIC, WILD, ZOO | Comments Off on Appointment Management Systems

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