Between paperwork, non-clinical duties, and an abundance of patients, physicians have a heavy workload to manage. The telemetry unit team at ReactDx wants to offer a number of ideas to help alleviate some of your workload and allow you more time to do what you do best — taking care of patients.
Set Goals
Write down short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals, and share them with your staff. As you meet each goal, cross it off your list. Whether you want to see more patients, spend more time with each patient, or spend extra time answering phone or email messages, the time can be carved out of your day by cutting out superfluous activities and delegating work.
Delegating
Using electronic health records (EHRs) is a double-edged sword; some patients are content with an online answer, but the sheer volume of messages is generally escalated. Patients are more likely to send a message to their physician’s office for an unusual bump than they are to have the bump examined. It takes additional time to answer online messages and escalate them to the PA or to you. Take advantage of EHRs by providing patients with as much information as possible online: new patient forms, medical emergency forms, medication forms, et cetera. Having this information completed before a patient arrives can save an enormous amount of time. When patients are given a synopsis of each visit, they can more easily remember their care and future goals.
Take On What You Can Handle
It can be difficult to tell anyone “no,” but you have a limited amount of hours every day; use them to the best of your advantage. Above all, do not promise to fulfill a task if you know in advance it will not be done. That breaks the trust between you and the other party.
Use Technology
Patients are now able to handle self-care right on their phones. Apps for many companies are now available to upload data that presents both patients and their physicians with blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar, or other values to ascertain whether a patient is in distress at any given moment. Many patient visits can be replaced with phone conversations or online patient meetings. Create an online pricing plan for cyber visits, and set aside an hour or so a day to “see” multiple patients in a short amount of time. If these follow-up visits can be delegated to an RN or PA, have that professional answer the calls, only escalating these cyber-visits if the need arises.
Find methods to keep your business thriving while assisting your patients to the best of your ability. Above all, keep yourself healthy and think positively. For more information on the latest trends in telemetry units and cardiovascular health, contact us online or call us at 800-23-HEART.
