Leveraging Advanced Practice Providers in an Otolaryngology Practice.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Healthcare Management
• Clinical Operations

Background:

• Advanced practice providers (APPs) play a crucial role in otolaryngology practices, working either independently or in collaborative settings.
• Traditional collaborative physician-APP clinics face challenges in managing patient volume and optimizing resource utilization.
• The existing model often leads to inefficiencies and can limit patient access to care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To redesign the collaborative physician-APP clinic model in an academic rhinology setting.
• The primary goals were to enhance patient access, ensure financial sustainability, and improve both patient and staff satisfaction.
• To transition from a traditional collaborative model to a more efficient concurrent clinic structure.

Main Methods:

• The study employed the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) framework to guide the redesign process.
• A tertiary care academic rhinology clinic serving adult patients was utilized for the study.
• Statistical process control charts were used to analyze the shift in operational efficiency, alongside patient and staff surveys.

Main Results:

• The collaborative model was successfully redesigned into parallel, independent physician and APP clinics (concurrent model).
• Patient access saw a significant increase of 38.9%, rising from 17.9 to 29.3 patients per clinic session.
• Financial analysis revealed a shift from a daily loss of $1341.51 in the collaborative model to a gain of $1309.88 in the concurrent model, alongside positive patient and staff feedback.

Conclusions:

• The concurrent physician-APP clinic model offers a viable solution for otolaryngology practices struggling with patient volume.
• This redesigned model demonstrably improves patient access and provider satisfaction.
• The concurrent model maintains positive patient satisfaction and enhances fiscal performance, making it a recommended strategy for similar clinics.