Same day access: a viable alternative for outpatient clinical care

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Healthcare Management
• Outpatient Clinical Care

Background:

• Traditional scheduling models in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) outpatient clinics often result in long wait times and lower patient satisfaction.
• Issues with clinic volume, revenue, and patient access to care are common challenges in OMS practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the implementation and outcomes of a novel same-day access (SDA) scheduling model for outpatient care in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• To compare the SDA model against previous scheduling protocols regarding key performance indicators.

Main Methods:

• A hospital-based outpatient clinic in OMS adopted a same-day access (SDA) scheduling system.
• Patients were offered immediate appointments on the day of contact.
• Key metrics including patient satisfaction, wait times, clinic volume, no-show rates, and access to care were analyzed and compared to historical data.

Main Results:

• Patient satisfaction surged to 80% with the SDA model, compared to 20%-40% with prior methods.
• Average patient wait times decreased dramatically from 330 minutes to 19 minutes.
• The SDA approach successfully scheduled 40 patients same-day, with 96% of all callers seen within 14 days.
• The SDA model was the only scheduling approach that met its volume and budgetary targets.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a same-day access (SDA) scheduling model significantly enhances patient satisfaction and reduces appointment wait times in OMS outpatient settings.
• SDA scheduling presents a viable and effective alternative to traditional protocols for clinics facing challenges with patient volume, revenue generation, and access to care.