Prescription refills clearly head this list. Many practices are bogged down with frequent calls for prescription refills. There might be some exceptions such as a patient with a chronic basically stable problem that requires a drug intermittently for flares, who has an acute flare and may have exhausted a prior supply of medication. In some situations, it may be reasonable and appropriate to provide the medication without an acute visit, or to provide the medication pending a scheduled visit within a few days. Alternatively, as necessary, the office staff can obtain the necessary information from the patient, pull the chart and provide it to the physician for review during time scheduled for such activity at the end of the day, the beginning of the next day, etc.
Patients have to be advised of procedure and policy to allow sufficient time for such paper work.
There are many systems available, each with advantages and disadvantages. One major issue is cost, but in the long run time is probably saved. With such forms, physician extenders can be trained to take detailed histories and save this time by the physician. The benefits of having a contract, the length, termination, and restrictions were discussed in this Forum. There was insufficient detail provided to comment on any more than this, but presumably all practices provide some time of retirement or tax deferred income program, health insurance and most likely disability income and possibly life insurance.