Chapter 16 Schedule Managment

When should a new patient complete the required "new patient forms"?

-15-30 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment -Prior to the appointment if received by mail

Which of the following types of information should be on a patient's appointment reminder card?

-Appointment date -Provider's name -Appointment time

Which of the following can cause appointment scheduling to get off track?

-Appointments running longer than expected -Emergency appointments -Patients arriving late -No-shows

Which of the following have been barriers to implementing an online scheduling option for some medical practices?

-Cost -Security

Which types of information are listed on a superbill?

-Diagnoses -Services performed -Health insurance

Where is a reminder mailing placed after being addressed, depending on how far in the future the appointment is?

-In the outgoing mail to be sent to the patient -In the tickler file under the day when it should be sent

Which of the following should be recorded next to a canceled or no-show appointment?

-Initials -"NS" or "can" -Reason for canceling

Which of the following are advantages of computerized scheduling?

-It blocks off slots for emergency appointments. -It keeps track of patient attendance.

Which of the following are characteristics of a well-managed appointment book?

-It presents the office in a positive, professional manner. -It is key to patient continuity of care.

Which of the following information should be collected from a new patient when scheduling an appointment?

-Name -Phone number -Insurance information

What are the 3 components to consider while scheduling?

-Patient needs -Available facilities -Physician's preference and habits

What are the three major pieces of patient information that should be obtained when scheduling an appointment?

-Reason for visit -Patient phone number -Patient name

Which of the following would be blocked off on an appointment schedule because the doctor is unavailable?

-Scheduled meetings -Surgery -Vacation days -Hospital rounds -Lunch -Holidays

To schedule an appointment, what are the three major pieces of information needed from the patient?

-Telephone numbers -Purpose of the visit -Full name

Which of the following would typically be blocked off on an appointment schedule because the doctor is unavailable?

-Vacation days and holidays -Hospital rounds -Lunch -Surgery -Scheduled meetings

Which of the following are strategies that patients sometimes use to avoid waiting at the medical office?

-Walking in without an appointment and expecting to be seen -Deliberately arriving after a scheduled appointment time -Arriving earlier at an appointment in hope of being seen sooner

Because appointment books are legal documents, the schedule should be written in

-blue ink. -black ink.

A no-show is a patient who

-does not come to a scheduled appointment. -does not call to cancel an appointment.

As patients leave the office, they are often given paperwork to return to the front desk. Other names for this paperwork are

-encounter form. -superbill.

Management consultants suggest that a schedule be written in blue ink because it is a ______ document.

-legal -permanent

In order to communicate with the office by e-mail, a patient must

-sign up and be assigned a password. -sign a release to allow e-mail communication

When are confirmation calls typically made?

1 or 2 days before the appointment

1. Itinerary 2. Locum tenens 3. Minutes 4. Overbooking

1. Detailed travel plan listing dates and times for specific transportation arrangements and events, the location of meetings and lodgings, and phone numbers 2. Substitute physician hired to see patients while the regular physician is away from the office 3. Report of what happened and what was discussed and decided at a meeting 4. Scheduling appointments for more patients than can reasonably be seen in the time allowed

Place the steps for scheduling an appointment in order, with the first step on top.

1. Establish the type of appointment required by the patient. 2. Consult the template for the amount of time required for the appointment. 3. When possible, schedule appointment earlier in the day first and then move to later time frames. 4. Enter the patient's name, phone number, and reason for appointment in the time slot. 5. Repeat the appointment information to the patient, giving any necessary instructions regarding preparation for the appointment.

1. pt 2. PT 3. c/o 4. cons 5. NP 6. NS

1. Patient 2. Physical therapy 3. Complains of 4. Consultation 5. New patient 6. No-show patient

1. Walk-in 2. Time-specified scheduling 3. Underbooking 4. No-show 5. Matrix

1. Patient who arrives at the office without an appointment 2. Scheduling in which patients arrive at regular, specified intervals, assuring the practice a steady stream of patients throughout the day 3. Leaving large, unused gaps in the doctor's schedule; this approach does not make the best use of the doctor's time 4. Patient who does not call to cancel and does not come to an appointment 5. Basic format of an appointment book, established by blocking off times on the schedule during which the doctor is able to see patients

1. re 2. ref 3. RS 4. S/R 5. surg

1. Recheck 2. Referral 3. Reschedule 4. Suture removal 5. Surgery

Place the steps for receiving e-mail scheduling in order, with the first step on top.

1. The patient signs up to receive e-mail communication. 2. The patient is assigned a password by the office. 3. The patient may request an appointment as long as it is not needed immediately. 4. The office returns a cofirmation e-mail of the scheduled appointment 5. An automatically generated reminder goes out to the patient when they appointment is approaching.

New patients should arrive _____ minutes early to allow time for filling out paperwork.

15-30

Few patients are willing to wait more than ______ minutes.

20

A new patient has never been seen in the practice or has not been seen by the practice in ______ or more years.

3

An established patient has been seen by the practice within the past ______ years.

3

Some experts advise keeping old appointment books for at least ______ year(s).

3

Generally speaking, a new patient visit should be scheduled in the appointment book or electronic schedule for how long?

30 to 45 minutes

What does a medical assistant do in the appointment book if the doctor has a surgery at 9:00 a.m. and it will last about an hour?

Block off 2 hours in the appointment book

How do you cross out a name in an appointment book?

Draw a single line through the name.

In a paper scheduling format, how is it indicated that a time slot is unavailable?

Draw an "X" through unavailable time slots.

Which type of appointments cause the schedule to run behind because they have to be squeezed in?Detailed travel plan listing dates and times for specific transportation arrangements and events, the location of meetings and lodgings, and phone numbers

Emergency

How are return appointments for established patients usually made?

In the office

Which scheduling feature allows patients to schedule themselves or request an appointment on the Internet?

Online scheduling

Why is it preferred to schedule appointments earlier in the day?

Open appointments later in the day allow space for unexpected appointments.

Which of the following should be done verify the accuracy of a scheduled appointment after entering it into the appointment book or electronic scheduler?

Repeat the appointment date and time to the patient

Where should the tickler item for a patient's recall notice be stored?

Under the month when the patient should call the office

A well-managed ______ is the key element of an efficient patient flow.

appointment book

A(n) ______ should be given to patients before they leave the office to remind them of their office visit.

appointment card

Setting time frames apart for specific appointment types refers to _________ scheduling.

cluster

Being able to access an appointment schedule from multiple areas in the office is an advantage of ______ scheduling.

computerized

It is beneficial to provide __________ to patients who are habitually late or typically no show for appointments.

confirmation calls

Return appointments for ______ patients are usually made at the time they are being checked out from a current appointment.

established

A patient who has been seen by the practice within the past 3 years is called a(n):

established patient

An appointment book is considered a ______ record.

legal

The basic format of an appointment book, established by blocking off times on the schedule during which the doctor is able to see patients, is a

matrix

A basic outline of the times the physician is and is not available to see patients is called a(n)

matrix.

A(n) ______ is someone who has never been to a certain facility before or has not seen the physician for more than 3 years.

new patient

A patient who neither calls to cancel nor goes to the appointment is known as a

no-show.

Having a properly maintained appointment book shows respect for everyone's time and creates an efficient ______ flow.

patient

A system of ________ helps patients to remember to call to schedule appointments at appropriate times.

recall notices

Entering the appointment in the scheduler first and then filling out the appointment card

reduces the chance of error.

It is appropriate to put _________ in a tickler file.

reminder postcards

The practice's schedule matrix should be based on ________.

the practitioner's schedule

In order to schedule appointments efficiently, you must have a guideline of how much ______ visits are expected to take.

time

The reason for obtaining insurance information when scheduling a new patient is so that it can be ______ prior to the patient's appointment.

verified