Do you have any suggestions to help us to help our doctor to stay on time? We are currently calling patients to move them back when we are running behind. I am wondering how that makes us look to the patient. Please let me know what you suggest.

My Response:

Naturally, chronically setting appointment times and then not honoring them is disrespectful to patients who must wait. Whether accidentally, intentional, subconscious or just a sign of “really being present with the patient,” it communicates a disregard for others.

When schedule busting occurs from accepting an acute walk-in patient, it sends the signal that new patients are more important than existing patients.

For many, in today’s time-precious world, the time that it costs to get adjusted is more expensive to many patients than the financial cost. Thus, this habit of not being conscious of the time can have profound affects on patient loyalty and puts stress on other team members. But you already know that!

The easiest solution is to reserve more time for each office visit. Instead of booking say, eight patients an hour, reduce it to six patients and hour.

Another strategy is to have the chiropractor wear a pager that can be set on vibrate to alert him or her when things are stacking up or as a reminder that the visit has just reached the 8-minute mark, or whatever. Clarify what the alert means. (If after awhile that is ignored, have it wired to administer a discipline-producing shock. Just kidding.)

I’m guessing the doctor is doing this to either get something or avoid losing something. You might want to find out what it is. Because obviously, he or she is not aware of how costly this behavior is, to both patient perceptions and support staff.

Bill