The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic
Introduction and objective. We examined patient waiting times, physician utilization, and exam room utilization in order to identify process improvements that may improve patient satisfaction. Methods. Time patient arrived to clinic, time patient was placed in the exam room, time the physician arriv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2008-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Urology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/507436 |
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| author | Onisuru T. Okotie Neel Patel Chris M. Gonzalez |
| author_facet | Onisuru T. Okotie Neel Patel Chris M. Gonzalez |
| author_sort | Onisuru T. Okotie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction and objective. We examined patient waiting times, physician utilization, and exam room utilization in order to identify process improvements that may improve patient satisfaction. Methods. Time patient arrived to clinic, time patient was placed in the exam room, time the physician arrived in the exam room, and time physician discharged the patient from the exam room were prospectively recorded for 226 outpatient visits. Results. Overall, 63.2% of patients were on time for their scheduled appointment with 14.8% patient “no-shows.” On-time patients were found to have a longer wait time once in the exam room for the physician than those that were late (14.8±9.2 minutes versus 11.0±8.4 minutes, 𝑃=.005); however, those patients spent a significantly longer time with the physician (10.7±6.0 minutes versus 8.9±5.8 minutes, 𝑃=.041). Exam room utilization was lower for late patients (28.9% versus 44.7%, 𝑃=.03) with physician utilization lower in clinics with 3 or more late patients when compared to clinics with 2 or fewer (59.7% versus 68.7%,
𝑃=.004).
Conclusions. Late patients had significantly less time with the physician than on-time patients. Late patients also decreased the overall efficiency of the clinic; therefore, measures to reduce late patients are vital to improve clinic efficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0c7930f4c8a34e1c84203da7031af276 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-6369 1687-6377 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2008-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Urology |
| spelling | doaj-art-0c7930f4c8a34e1c84203da7031af2762025-08-20T03:54:15ZengWileyAdvances in Urology1687-63691687-63772008-01-01200810.1155/2008/507436507436The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology ClinicOnisuru T. Okotie0Neel Patel1Chris M. Gonzalez2Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USADepartment of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USADepartment of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USAIntroduction and objective. We examined patient waiting times, physician utilization, and exam room utilization in order to identify process improvements that may improve patient satisfaction. Methods. Time patient arrived to clinic, time patient was placed in the exam room, time the physician arrived in the exam room, and time physician discharged the patient from the exam room were prospectively recorded for 226 outpatient visits. Results. Overall, 63.2% of patients were on time for their scheduled appointment with 14.8% patient “no-shows.” On-time patients were found to have a longer wait time once in the exam room for the physician than those that were late (14.8±9.2 minutes versus 11.0±8.4 minutes, 𝑃=.005); however, those patients spent a significantly longer time with the physician (10.7±6.0 minutes versus 8.9±5.8 minutes, 𝑃=.041). Exam room utilization was lower for late patients (28.9% versus 44.7%, 𝑃=.03) with physician utilization lower in clinics with 3 or more late patients when compared to clinics with 2 or fewer (59.7% versus 68.7%, 𝑃=.004). Conclusions. Late patients had significantly less time with the physician than on-time patients. Late patients also decreased the overall efficiency of the clinic; therefore, measures to reduce late patients are vital to improve clinic efficiency.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/507436 |
| spellingShingle | Onisuru T. Okotie Neel Patel Chris M. Gonzalez The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic Advances in Urology |
| title | The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic |
| title_full | The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic |
| title_short | The Effect of Patient Arrival Time on Overall Wait Time and Utilization of Physician and Examination Room Resources in the Outpatient Urology Clinic |
| title_sort | effect of patient arrival time on overall wait time and utilization of physician and examination room resources in the outpatient urology clinic |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/507436 |
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