Pediatric Physicians, PC

Last week, we posted here about all of the great, positive comments we received from our patients on a recent survey. Today’s it’s time for us to ‘fess up about the most common negative comment, and talk about what we’re trying to do to fix it.

The most common criticism we heard from our recent surveys was: “The waiting time can be too long.”

We agree, and our own staff and doctors have been frustrated by waits at their doctor’s offices, too. It’s a problem epidemic in medicine. I don’t want this post to turn into a bunch of excuses, but scheduling the right amount of time for every patient is really difficult, and sometimes no matter what you do with your schedule, genuine surprises occur. Still, we get it: that waiting with sick and/or impatient kids can’t be any fun, and we don’t like to make anyone wait. These are the steps we’re taking, right now, to help improve our wait times:

Better communication between our doctors and nurses Dr. Stan, who besides being a super doc is also a super computer genius, has developed a much better way for all of our nursing staff to see at one glance what all of our doctors need, and how long patients have been waiting. We’re hoping this helps streamline the many tasks that need to get done.

Improved scheduling We’re constantly working on ways to improve our schedules so patients can get the time they need. We’ll shortly be rolling out more opportunities for web-based scheduling, and more-robust logic that can help us figure out how much time certain types of appointments are likely to take. A lot of this is “behind the scenes”, but it’s something we take very seriously.

Improved checkout Working with our software vendors, we’re automating and shortening a lot of the tasks that used to lead to standing around at checkout, and there’s more to come!

While we’re working on these and other ideas, there are some things that parents and patients can do to help everyone get seen quickly and efficiently:

Please come on time for your appointment There is time set aside for your child at your child’s appointment time. If you’re late, all of the appointments after you are going to have to wait longer.

Tell us in advance if you think you need “extra time” We know certain problems — including mental health issues, or chronic unexplained pain, or complex social or school problems — do need extra time. Please tell the staff in advance, at the time you make the appointment.

Consider registering for the portal and doing some of the intake forms in advance Some of the forms we’ll ask you to complete in the office for well visits, especially, can be completed in advance on the portal. We’ll be making more of these forms available as soon as we can.

While we’re trying to do the best we can, we’ll tell you one thing to improve our “on-time” performance that we will not do: our doctors will not “watch the clock” while we’re in the exam room with you. During your visit, you will have the time you need, even if your problem is complex, and especially when your child needs the doctor’s attention most. Yes, that means the next patient may have to wait a bit. We’ll do the best we can to run on time, but we’re not going to tap our watches and tell people that their time is up. We’ll never be that kind of practice.

Thanks for all of your support!!

A few weeks ago, we invited families with children seen in our office in the last three months to do a brief online survey (just 2 questions, we know you all are busy!) The response rate was great, and we really appreciate the feedback.

The responses were overwhelmingly positive. We can’t thank you, our patients, enough — our business relies on word-of-mouth, and your supportive comments to your friends and neighbors are what helps our practice thrive!

We wanted to first share the top positive comments that we’ve received. Yes, this is a little bit of a braggy post, but we’re just so happy with the feedback that we wanted to share.

We also received some very helpful critical comments, too. We’ve already taken steps to address many of those. In future posts here, we’re going to highlight some of the criticisms we’ve received, and talk about what we’re doing to address those. We hope posts like these help continue the dialogue. As much as we love the positive comments, we also need to hear the negatives — that’s the best way to help us continue to improve and serve your children better.

But, for today, only the good news! Presenting, first, the top 5 positive remarks we received from you, our practice families:

#5 : Sick Visit Quick Availability — We always have same-day sick appointments available. When your children are sick, and you’re worried, we’re here for you.

#4: Front Office Staff is Welcoming and Professional — We strive to be welcoming, even when your children aren’t feeling well.

#3: Doctors Spending Enough Time with Patients/Not Feeling Rushed — We’re not here to stare at a clock or tell you when your time is up. When you need more time with the doctor, you’ll get more time with the doctor. That’s the reason we’re here.

#2: Nursing staff is Kid-Friendly, Caring, and Gentle — We know a smile goes a long way, and that a sick or worried child needs extra care. Our team wants children and parents to feel comfortable and loved.

And the #1 comment from the surveys (drum roll please)

#1: Our doctors are great!  — Aw, shucks. There were a ton of comments about our expertise and communication skills and caring attitude. Again, can I say, thanks!! It’s our pleasure to help out, but everyone likes a compliment now and then!

Thanks again for all the kind comments! Next: some of the constructive criticism, and what we’re going to do about it — stay tuned!

Our phones are working at both of our offices now – there was a power outage at a major Atlanta data center that affected the entire region.  We are sorry for any inconvenience!

We have enabled a new feature on our patient portal that allows patients and caregivers to schedule sick appointments online!

What is appropriate to schedule via this online tool?

1. Immediate, non-emergency illnesses or injuries: (new fever, sore throat, stomach bug, ear pain, mild injury that doesn’t need stitches or a cast)
2. Short term flare-ups of chronic conditions (asthma flare, allergies, eczema, etc).
3. Only for established patients who have been seen in past 3 years

What is NOT appropriate?:

1. Chronic or long-term complicated issues: (chronic headache, chronic stomachaches, other chronic illnesses)
2. Psychological or learning issues: (anxiety, depression, attention problems, behavior problems)
3. Checkup visits
4. Medication recheck visits (such as ADD recheck, anxiety medication recheck, etc).
5. Emergencies, or visits that may need stitches or a cast
6. New patients, or patients who have not been seen in past 3 years

(Appointments for the above problems can still be requested via a portal message, but will need the assistance of a receptionist to schedule to ensure they are done correctly.)

Instructions:

1. Log into the patient portal
2. Make sure you are in the chart of the child who needs the appointment – click on the drop-down on the upper left to switch between children.
3. Click on the button.
4. Click on the drop down shown below and pick “Sick Visit”
5. In the screen that comes up, there will be drop-down options to filter by doctor and location.   The provider drop-down will show only those doctors who your child has seen since switching to our new software, so to see all doctor options leave that as “No Preference.”
6. Click on a date and time, add a description of the current problem to the Notes text box, then click Schedule Appointment.

Two large recalls are underway for some lots of Epipen/Epipen Jr and Ventolin HFA inhalers.

If you have one of these products at home, check the lot numbers against those in the linked recall notices. For both of these, only some lots are affected, and lots not on the recall lists are fine to continue using. If you’re not sure if your product was recalled, contact your pharmacy. If you need a new prescription to replace a recalled item, give us a call.