Alas, science hasn't yet succeeded in squeezing that 25th hour into the day. But some physicians have made their office lives work more smoothly by applying six simple ideas. If they're not already a part of your routine, they may be worth a try as you battle the managed care time crunch. The first idea comes from an emergency medicine department, but it is applicable to primary care as well. Today, urgent care centers siphon off the easy stuff, leaving us with complicated patients who still need to be served accurately and quickly.
Algorithms are useful for making doctors thorough.
But our happy thought was to involve the patients, showing them the recommended pathways for their complaints. It saved us time by helping patients understand the need for them to stay focused on what the questions and answers were. Immaculate office records may take a little time, but they save more. Stan Skrepnek, a Palestine, Texas, general practitioner, prefers to work with a hand-held dictating machine for office visits. He makes sure to include in his dictation all the information required for insurance forms.