Medical Clinics and Practices

Understanding How They Work and Why

Roger Gruneisen

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138341425
• eBook ISBN: 9780429802164
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Operations

A hospital can be a private or public sector building where patients are admitted for acute treatment. On the other hand, a clinic is a hub of healthcare activity and a place where care providers interact with patients, prescribe medicine, and provide care instructions on what to do after leaving the clinic. Both sites have different and specific operational management needs and requirements. This book serves as a guide to new consultants, management engineers, administrators, and sales professionals seeking to assess simple clinics or medical practice operations.

In addition to providing important information about the various aspects of managing a clinic or medical practice, each chapter explains common operating practices seen today and gives some indication of good or better practices. To organize the chapter flow, the chapters are simplified into the typical flow of how a patient moves through the system from patient access to registration to discharge and is presented in a 'Fact Finder' format. In this format, the author answers important questions: What is a care team? What kind of physical space does the practice need? What about equipment and technology needs? Finally, the author concludes with key infrastructure concepts, such as leadership and management systems, integration into larger systems, and key measurements. All topics important to those working in or servicing the ambulatory market.

Index

Page numbers in italics denote figures.

A

accessibility, assessing the clinic for 45–8

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses 12

after visit summaries (AVS), completion, personnel and location 86–8

Ambulatory Care centers, location considerations 47

ancillary providers 95

appointments

importance of defining time expectations to staff and patients 156

scheduling

B

back office staff

duties 13

scheduling of appointments by 85

between-visit care

communication management 89–90

medication management 89

outreach engagement/effectiveness 90–1

billing, as consideration in task allocation 71

Blue Cross 17–18

Blue Shield 17–18

budget considerations

annual bottom line per provider 147–9

calculating staff expenses 151

care team model 97

cycle time 156–8

income breakdown by revenues and expenses 148

income calculation per provider 149

lost/unused provider capacity 153, 155

measuring access to care 151–3

measuring time to access care 151

patient flow process 156–8

profit and loss 13, 16, 147, 149

staff expenses per provider 149–50

staff/provider ratios 150

task allocation 71

work relative value units per provider 150–1

funding structures and reimbursement

building maintenance 14

C

capacity of clinics clinical capacity

cardiologists 12

care history 74

care services, balancing considerations 24

care team, models 96

Certified Nurse Midwife (APRN-CNM) 12

Certified Nurse Practitioner (APRN-CNP) 12

check-in process

comparisons 42, 51, 57

e...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Author
• SECTION I INTRODUCTION
• SECTION II OVERVIEW ON CLINICS INCLUDING THE PEOPLE AND PAYERS
• SECTION III PATIENT THROUGHPUT, PATIENT FLOW, AND CAPACITY
• SECTION IV KEY CAPACITY CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES TO ASSESS
• SECTION V KEY INFRASTRUCTURE CONCEPTS
• SECTION VI CLOSING
• Appendix A: Checklist of all Questions
• Index