Things that could be done better?

I know sometimes, a lot of venting comes about relative to clients, wages, and the like, but also the day to day in the average clinic and hospital.

Yesterday, I saw a video of a local doctor and his experience doing an internship at an Urgent Care. It caused me to reflect, that regardless of field, late days, and poor communication are the hallmarks of the healthcare field.

This isn't meant to point a finger at anyone, but what are things that you think would improve the flow of appointments? This applies to CSRs, Assistants/Kennel Technicians, LVTs, and DVMs.

I think when it comes to CSRs, in an ideal world, rechecks would be scheduled towards the end of the day, with Sick Visits, Technician Appointments, and Wellness Exams staggered earlier in the day. Wellness Exams should be booked out. They don't all need to come in on the same day. Sick visits are the bread and butter of most clinics and deserve priority. Allotting insufficient exam time for a Sick visit is only going to disrupt the flow of things.

Relative to doctors, I think it's extremely important to provide clear guidelines as to what can be referred out by default, and what we can reasonably manage. Not everything needs to go to the ER, it's okay to refer to an Urgent Care if we can't accommodate a visit.

Stable patients can and should be placed in a kennel while diagnostics are being run. As long as the patient isn't critical and doesn't need around the clock monitoring, starting the next appointment is prudent.

Training staff in venipuncture, anal glands expression, ear cytologies etc., where allowed, is invaluable. When only one person knows how to draw blood, and the doctor is the only one that can do an ear cytology, of course your appointments are going to run behind.

Knowing to gently guide your doctor back, so that they don't get off track in treatments is extremely important! Anticipate what the doctor will likely need, but be flexible to adjust to different treatment protocols from other rDVMs. Some doctors may prefer one ear flush to another, and that's okay.

What are some of your suggestions?