We met again to discuss our votes, and, afterward, each person ranked the ideas again and gave them to the physician manager. Then we met once again to discuss the results and our next steps. This includes helping in whatever way is needed, perhaps cross training individuals and allowing each person to describe at a staff meeting some unknown details of his or her job so that others can gain understanding. Reduce chart scatter. This involves filing more quickly, decreasing the possible locations for charts and eventually converting to computerized patient records.
Return calls to patients sooner.
The group mentioned using voice mail to help manage phone calls and allowing nurses to set time aside for returning calls. Make patients feel more welcome. In particular, we want to decrease the amount of paperwork patients have to complete. Although our support staff thought providers should call all patients with all results, our providers preferred calling only with significant results. What we all agreed on, however, is that patients should receive timely feedback from the person most able to give them the information they need.