Unfilled Appointments

Is it aggravating to have unfilled appointments when your providers are harder and harder to schedule with?

Today’s BIG Idea comes from a savvy group in the Midwest who had a doctor and an advanced practitioner leave the practice recently.  Days to third next available appointment has ballooned to close to eight weeks for some appointment types, so maximizing appointment utilization is critical.  You can see in the podcast graphic that the practice analyzes each appointment slot to see why the slot was not filled.  Was there ever an appointment in the slot?  If an appointment was canceled, how long ago was the appointment canceled?  Any appointment slot canceled more than a day ago is tracked to know who canceled the appointment and why that opening was not immediately filled with a waiting patient.  Blocked appointment slots are also managed.  Optimizing unfilled appointment slots is a win for the patient, the practice, and the provider.  I hope ideas in this podcast give you ideas to make your practice more efficient.