Influence of Wave Scheduling on Productivity in an Outpatient Family Medicine Residency Clinic
Location
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-5-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2024 11:30 AM
Poster Number
188
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Mary Axelrad
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Family Medicine
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Presentation Category
Health
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Scheduling of patients in an outpatient setting has a significant impact on patient satisfaction and clinician performance. Existing research on wave scheduling has demonstrated increased staff productivity, increased patient satisfaction by preventing long wait times, and enabling clinicians to see patients in a timelier manner by optimizing patient flow throughout the day. Wave scheduling is an appointment scheduling technique that involves scheduling two patients at the top of the hour and another at the bottom of the hour. This way, if one patient arrives early and one patient arrives late, there is flexibility to shift patients around within the hour to see them more efficiently and allow time to account for late arrivals and no-show visits. For instance, if a patient does not come to their appointment at the top of the hour, there is still time to add an acute visit to the schedule in this time slot while you are seeing the other patient scheduled at the top of the hour. Therefore, this method also potentially improves access for patients who are in need of acute or same day visits. The goal of this project was to test this method of scheduling in a Family Medicine residency clinic, which has multiple resident providers and a higher no show rate than traditional clinics to help determine if wave scheduling affected productivity. A wave scheduling format for patient appointments for three residents was utilized, with five designated clinic days being wave scheduling and five traditional scheduled days. The two different scheduling techniques were then compared. The no show rate and how many patients were seen each day were measured to help determine how it affected productivity. A survey was then conducted with the residents participating in the project, their designated nurse, as well as the front office staff for subjective data regarding their overall thoughts on the wave scheduling project. It was predicted that the results of the study will support the existing research that wave scheduling increases productivity and overall staff and provider satisfaction.
Influence of Wave Scheduling on Productivity in an Outpatient Family Medicine Residency Clinic
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Scheduling of patients in an outpatient setting has a significant impact on patient satisfaction and clinician performance. Existing research on wave scheduling has demonstrated increased staff productivity, increased patient satisfaction by preventing long wait times, and enabling clinicians to see patients in a timelier manner by optimizing patient flow throughout the day. Wave scheduling is an appointment scheduling technique that involves scheduling two patients at the top of the hour and another at the bottom of the hour. This way, if one patient arrives early and one patient arrives late, there is flexibility to shift patients around within the hour to see them more efficiently and allow time to account for late arrivals and no-show visits. For instance, if a patient does not come to their appointment at the top of the hour, there is still time to add an acute visit to the schedule in this time slot while you are seeing the other patient scheduled at the top of the hour. Therefore, this method also potentially improves access for patients who are in need of acute or same day visits. The goal of this project was to test this method of scheduling in a Family Medicine residency clinic, which has multiple resident providers and a higher no show rate than traditional clinics to help determine if wave scheduling affected productivity. A wave scheduling format for patient appointments for three residents was utilized, with five designated clinic days being wave scheduling and five traditional scheduled days. The two different scheduling techniques were then compared. The no show rate and how many patients were seen each day were measured to help determine how it affected productivity. A survey was then conducted with the residents participating in the project, their designated nurse, as well as the front office staff for subjective data regarding their overall thoughts on the wave scheduling project. It was predicted that the results of the study will support the existing research that wave scheduling increases productivity and overall staff and provider satisfaction.