Indicators of physician timeliness in the process of care

Physician timeliness at the junctures that define an episode of inpatient care is an extremely important clinical process variable. Medical staff policies that describe acceptable performance with respect to timeliness could be used in peer review and continuous quality improvement activities. The authors' external peer review experiences suggest that physician timeliness may be of concern during the admission and discharge processes, the monitoring and follow-up of patient progress, the provision of verbal orders, the transfer of responsibility between physicians, and the use of consultants. A full discussion of the implications of physician timeliness could provide the vehicle for greater understanding of the value of continuous quality improvement in the hospital setting and lead to more complete participation in developing strategies to improve the processes of care.