Improving Patient Flow in Optometric Practices

Consumers in today’s competitive markets hate to wait –, especially in the doctor’s office.  At some point, a reasonable patient wait time turns into an inconvenient, inconsiderate experience.   So what is considered a reasonable amount of time for a patient office visit?   Research indicates that after 45 minutes patients lose their “patience” and become anxious (need to get back to work, make another appointment somewhere else, run other errands etc.) as their schedules become disrupted.

With so much profit to realize from the retail side of optometry the last thing you want to do is have patients/customers frustrated due to long waiting times.  The Comlite LAN4000 facilitates patient flow by allowing doctors to page techs or opticians back to the exam rooms for the instructions and handoffs, letting the doctor know how many patients are waiting, and using patient sequencing to know where to go next.    This allows staff activities revolve around the doctor’s needs.   Of all these, paging optical back to the exam room for the hand-off is the most critical for saving doctor time.   By avoiding the dispensary doctors eliminate all the extraneous conversations that they would otherwise get caught up in.  Conversations that they feel obligated to have because after all they are your patients/customers.

Avoid the Dispensary at all costs!

The Comlite LAN4000 also provides a way to time and report averages for how long it takes for a work up or a full exam.  See if you can complete a patient visit within a 45 minute to 1-hour window.   Remember, the quicker your patient flow moves through the clinical side of your office the more time patients will have to shop in your retail side!