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Workflow

By Jay Levine, VP of Marketing PBHS
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As seen in the March 2000 edition of the AAOMS Newsletter: Practice Management Notes


The great thing about having a web site is that it will evolve and take form based upon your specific needs. While your primary reason for utilizing a practice web site may be to educate your patients on office policy and treatment options, facilitation of workflow and practice management are the ideal ways to quickly save time and money.

For example, many surgeons mail out a patient registration and health history form to their patients prior to initial visit in the hope that the patient will either mail the form back or bring it to their appointment. In many cases, neither happens. Sometimes a patient may forget to bring the form, which will upset that patient since they will have to fill out the form again. Either way, postage is used, time is spent mailing the form, and the patient has now doubled their effort to complete registration.

Every practice utilizes an in-house registration form – the form may even match the screens of your practice management software, making data entry a bit easier for your staff. Not a bad idea but the patient is still filling out the form in the office. And when you have three or four patients registering at one time, inevitably you create a backlog at the front desk.

A web site will facilitate the workflow process by enabling your patient to pre-register online, minimizing or eliminating front desk data entry. We have found that approximately 40% of patients will fill out your online registration form. Why? Because your front desk has promoted this feature to the patient. Every time a new patient calls to schedule an appointment, the receptionist will ask if the patient has access to the Internet. If so, he/she directs the patient to the practice web site and asks them to review the procedural information prior to coming into the office. In addition, the receptionist asks the patient to fill out the online registration and health history form. The chart is securely emailed to the front desk. A practice will save 15 to 20 minutes per chart, which would translate to approximately $3.00 a patient. This aspect of a practice web site will provide the same comprehensive documentation necessary for proper reimbursements, patient charting and accreditation.

Let’s take this a step further. The email-based chart can either be printed and manually entered into your practice management software by your staff or directly integrated with your practice management software. If integrated, the system will automatically download the patient registration forms and populate your management database with minimal user intervention. We have now eliminated the majority of data entry for the front desk.

And we are just scratching the surface here. Already, technology is enabling integration that will allow patients to pay their statements online and schedule appointments. Online charting, referrals and e-commerce solutions will become commonplace. < back | next >

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Jay Levine is Vice President of Marketing for PBHS Inc.

^{1,2 Juniper Communications, eMarketer}