Improving Access to Care for Patients and Referring Providers through Centralized Scheduling

PROJECT SUMMARY 

This paper ties to the following body of knowledge:  Operations Management and Patient-Centered care   

Access to health care for patients is critical to promote and maintain health, prevent and manage chronic disease, and support overall quality of life.   Access is ensuring that patients receive the care they need from the right provider, at the right time, and in the right place. This concept is a significant challenge for all large ambulatory groups as they struggle with limited appointment availability due to clinician shortages, insurance coverage, and geographic challenges for those patients in a rural community. However, medical practice leaders must find ways to promote access to care to reduce overall costs and increase profitability for their systems.

The Vice President of Operations is proposing to implement centralized appointment scheduling. The goal of which would be to improve patient access by creating ease of scheduling, standardization of processes, reduction in wait times for getting through the office by phone, and increasing economies of scale to drive operational efficiencies and reduce costs. The Vice President is seeking approval for start-up costs that will be incorporated into the project. These costs consist of a lease cost for co-locating the staff, approval to hire the appropriate number of full-time equivalent staffing needs, capital needs for office-based equipment, training, and marketing of the service. 

The Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officers are on board with the vision. The proforma and business narrative will provide them with the information required to determine if the investment has a positive return.