Abstract
The science of optimizing access and wait times is still evolving. Many confounding factors influence the capacity of health systems to offer appointments in a timely manner. Timely access to care is a determinant of medical outcomes and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this project was to develop a standardized approach for the structure of centralized services based on the patient scheduling needs for individual specialty clinics. This process improvement project utilized quantitative data to measure changes in scheduled appointment utilization, within three pediatric specialty clinics after 45 days of implementationThe science of optimizing access and wait times is still evolving. Many confounding factors influence the capacity of health systems to offer appointments in a timely manner. Timely access to care is a determinant of medical outcomes and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this project was to develop a standardized approach for the structure of centralized services based on the patient scheduling needs for individual specialty clinics. This process improvement project utilized quantitative data to measure changes in scheduled appointment utilization, within three pediatric specialty clinics after 45 days of implementation. The implementation included adjustments in workflow and scheduling protocols; and recommendations for staffing models, performance metrics, and operational dashboards. An average 12.3% increase in scheduled appointment utilization was realized within the three clinics. The results highlight the benefits for an optimized scheduling practice to increase scheduled appointment utilization which may increase the timeliness of access to specialty care for patients and families. . The implementation included adjustments in workflow and scheduling protocols; and recommendations for staffing models, performance metrics, and operational dashboards. An average 12.3% increase in scheduled appointment utilization was realized within the three clinics. The results highlight the benefits for an optimized scheduling practice to increase scheduled appointment utilization which may increase the timeliness of access to specialty care for patients and families.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Lead Author Affiliation
Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Type
DNP Capstone Project
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Pediatric, Specialty Care, Scheduling
Advisor
Hannan, Jeannie
Second Advisor
Nkalari, Andy
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Nebraska Methodist College
Degree Year
2019
Recommended Citation
Perez, Ricardo, "Optimizing access to pediatric specialty care" (2024). Group: Nebraska Methodist College. 52.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_nmc/52
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Self-submission
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
