Successful Interventions to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Patient Visit Duration in a Retina Practice

Abstract

Purpose: To reduce the total clinic visit duration among retina providers in an academic ophthalmology department.Methods: All patient encounters across all providers in the department were analyzed to determine baseline clinic visit duration time, defined as the elapsed time between appointment time and checkout. To increase photography capacity, a major bottleneck identified through root cause analysis, four interventions were implemented: training ophthalmic technicians to perform fundus photography in addition to optical coherence tomographies, relocating photography equipment to be adjacent to examination rooms, procuring three additional Optos widefield retinal photography units, and shifting staff schedules to better align with that of the providers. These interventions were implemented in the clinics of two retina providers.Results: The average baseline visit duration for all patients across all providers was 87 minutes (19,550 patient visits). The previous average visit duration was 80 minutes for Provider 1 (557 patient visits) and 81 minutes for Provider 2 (1,246 patient visits). In the 4 weeks after interventions were implemented, the average visit duration decreased to 60 minutes for Provider 1 and 57 minutes for Provider 2.Conclusion: A systematic approach and a multidisciplinary team resulted in targeted, cost-effective interventions that reduced total visit durations.

The heterogeneity of public preferences for the first healthcare visit: A discrete choice experiment in the context of Vietnam

“…The longer the time that patients spend waiting to see providers (either in a waiting room or an exam room), the greater the likelihood of dissatisfaction with care and the lower the confidence that they have in a provider. The upshot of all these is low satisfaction with the quality of care 51 . The participants were willing to lengthen healthcare visits if this meant receiving better services, but this willingness did not extend to travel time.…”

“…The upshot of all these is low satisfaction with the quality of care. 51 The participants were willing to lengthen healthcare visits if this meant receiving better services, but this willingness did not extend to travel time. In particular, in both severity scenarios, the MRS related to the change from junior doctor to expert service was the largest.…”

The Current Burden and Future Solutions for Preoperative Cataract-Refractive Evaluation Diagnostic Devices: A Modified Delphi Study

“…Interventions to reduce time between measurements and optimize technician training have helped to improve efficiency and patient throughput in a retina practice setting. 46 While cost, reliance on a single device, and adapting to a new workflow may be of concern to some practices, the value of improving patient outcomes and increasing efficiency may offset hesitations regarding conversion to a comprehensive whole eye analyzer for a preoperative refractive cataract evaluation. Innovations in surgical planning software that integrate postoperative data and synthesize preoperative measurements from multiple devices may also be a solution for surgeons hesitant to transition to a whole eye analyzer; 47 however, combining planning software with a whole eye analyzer may be the best solution to address inter-device measurement issues highlighted by the panel in this study.…”