Appointment Scheduling



Appointment Scheduling

Purpose:

To learn the basics of UNT Health patient scheduling procedures and understand their importance to the clinic’s daily operation.

Objectives:

✓ Scheduling an Initial Appointment

✓ Rescheduling an Appointment

✓ Cancelling an Appointment

✓ Patient No-Shows

Importance of Appointment Scheduling:

The importance of appointment scheduling cannot be understated, because the entire daily operation of each clinic revolves around patient appointments. Each member of a clinic’s front office staff and the call center need to have a full understanding of how to schedule a patient’s initial appointment, cancel a patient’s previously-scheduled appointment, record times when a patient fails to show up for a scheduled appointment, and reschedule a patient’s appointment.

Daily patient appointments constantly change throughout the course of a clinic’s day. Be sure to remain aware of all updates and changes as they happen. This will help ensure an efficient workflow in all areas of the clinic. Changes to the schedule can have a direct impact on how the clinic will operate for the remainder of the day, because every clinic is staffed to handle a specific number of patients (within a range) each morning and afternoon.

Scheduling an Initial Appointment

[pic] Appointment Scheduling

Once a new UNT Health patient has been registered in Gold, their initial appointment can be scheduled.

1. Select “Patient Management” from the Front Office Functions section of the Main Menu.

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2. Enter the Patient’s Name and select “Schedule Appointment” from the Inquiry Menu on the left.

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3. Select “Continue”

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The sections of the “Schedule Appointment” screen requiring action are:

• Appointment Information – where appointment details are entered

• Referrals and Encounters – where referral details are entered

The purpose of an appointment is to schedule a resource for the patient. A resource may be any of the following:

• a doctor

• a nurse

• a room

• a specific piece of medical equipment

When scheduling a patient’s appointment, “Resource” will typically refer to a doctor.

4. Enter the Resource Code for the Doctor to be seen by the Patient. Access Help Mode for a listing of Doctor Resource Codes.

|[pic] |HOT TIP: Look up the Resource Codes for the Doctors at the clinic where you will be working and |[pic] |

| |memorize them. Write them down here: _________ _________ _________ _________ _________. | |

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5. Enter the Resource Type “DR” under Qualifiers, then select “Continue”

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6. Scroll through multiple pages of Resource Code listings to find the correct Doctor.

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7. Once the correct Doctor has been located in Help Mode, select the matching Resource Code.

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8. Enter the Appt (Appointment) Type as either:

• NP=New Patient – visiting the clinic for the first time

• EP=Established Patient – has been to the clinic before

• CP=Complete Physical – only used by the PCC Family Medicine Clinic for New Patients, with “NP” entered in the Description field

KEY POINT: When a Patient is new to a specific doctor, but not to the clinic, the Appointment Type should be listed as “NP” with “EP” entered in the Description field.

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9. Enter the Appointment Duration in number of minutes, which will typically be 15.

KEY POINT: The Duration is typically set at 15 minutes, since it is intended to fill 15-minute intervals on the Daily Schedule. The actual Appointment itself will probably end up lasting longer than 15 minutes, but most UNT Health clinics set up their Daily Schedule to allow Appointments to be booked every 15 minutes (such as 0900, 0915, 0930, 0945, etc.).

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10. To set the Appointment Date and Time, select “Calendar” from the Display Schedules sub-menu on the left.

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11. In Calendar view, scroll through the weekly schedule by selecting “+7” to advance one week at a time.

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12. Once a desired Appointment Date and Time have been located, highlight the matching box by clicking on it, then select “Schedule Appointment” from the Scheduling Functions sub-menu on the left. Only white boxes are available for Scheduling, as the grayed-out boxes are times the Doctor is not seeing Patients, and boxes with a Name are Appointments which have already been booked by other Patients.

KEY POINT: The Location and Description fields will be automatically filled, based on the entered Resource and Appointment Type.

Once the necessary fields have been completed in the Appointment Information section, proceed to the Referrals and Encounters section to enter the details for any Referral that may be required.

|[pic] |HOT TIP: A Referral is a document given to a Patient by their Primary Care Physician (PCP) allowing a|[pic] |

| |set number of visits to a Specialist over a fixed period of time. | |

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13. Enter the “No Ref Msg” (No Referral Message) Code from the following list:

• COM=Referral Complete

• FAX=Referral Being Faxed

• PBR=Patient Bringing Referral

• REC=Referral Received

• RIP=Referral in Progress

• RNR=Referral Not Required – standard entry, unless at a Specialist

• RPA=Prior Authorization Has Remaining Visits

• VRO=Verbal Referral Only

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14. Select “Schedule” to book the Appointment as entered.

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15. The system generates an “Encounter Was Created” confirmation message (including Encounter Number), along with a summary of the Appointment details.

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Rescheduling an Appointment

In the event an existing appointment needs to be moved to a different time and/or date, either by the patient or the doctor, there is a specific process for rescheduling an appointment in Gold. If the patient asks to have the appointment rescheduled, updating Gold will also serve as notification for the doctor, as every doctor’s daily schedule is maintained and generated by Gold. However, if the doctor asks to have the appointment rescheduled, the patient must be contacted by phone and advised of the new time and/or date.

1. If a patient needs to be rescheduled, start by selecting “Patient Management” from the Front Office Functions section of the Main Menu.

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2. Enter the Patient’s Name and select “Schedule Appointment” from the Inquiry Menu on the left.

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3. Select “Patient” from the Display Schedules sub-menu on the left.

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4. Highlight the desired Appointment, then select “Reschedule” from the Scheduling Functions sub-menu on the left.

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5. Select “Calendar” from the Display Schedules sub-menu on the left.

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6. Locate the Appointment to be Rescheduled.

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7. Highlight the box containing the desired Reschedule Date and Time, then select “Schedule Appointment” from the Weekly Calendar menu on the left.

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8. Review the information to make sure the new Appointment Date and Time are correct, then select “Reschedule”

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9. The system generates an “Encounter Was Created” confirmation message (including Encounter Number), along with an updated Patient Schedule listing the original Appointment as “RESCHED” and the new, rescheduled Appointment as “ACTIVE”

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Cancelling an Appointment

In the event an existing appointment needs to be cancelled, either by the patient or the doctor, there is a specific process for cancelling an appointment in Gold. If the patient asks to have the appointment cancelled, updating Gold will also serve as notification for the doctor, as every doctor’s daily schedule is maintained and generated by Gold. However, if the doctor asks to have the appointment cancelled, the patient must be contacted by phone and advised of the new time and/or date.

1. If a patient needs their appointment cancelled, start by selecting “Patient Management” from the Front Office Functions section of the Main Menu.

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2. Enter the Patient’s Name and select “Schedule Appointment” from the Inquiry Menu on the left.

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3. Select “Patient” from the Display Schedules sub-menu on the left.

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4. Highlight the desired Appointment, then select “Cancel” from the Scheduling Functions sub-menu on the left.

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5. Enter the “Change Reason” Code from the drop-down menu. The complete list of Change Reason Codes can be viewed in Help Mode, but the options will typically be either:

• PC=Patient Cancelled – request generated by the Patient

• RC=Resource Cancelled – request generated by the Doctor

KEY POINT: One of the “Change Reason” Codes is “NS” for “No Show” which should only be used when processing an actual No Show, and not a Cancellation.

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6. Select “Update”

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7. The system generates an “Encounter Was Created” confirmation message (including Encounter Number), along with an updated Patient Schedule listing the Appointment as “CANCEL”

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Patient No-Shows

[pic] Patient Appointment “No-Show”

[pic] Patient Disengagement

In the event a patient does not show up for a scheduled appointment, there is a specific process for a “no-show” appointment in Gold. In addition to entering the No Show in Gold, a Missed Appointment Triage Flow Sheet must also be completed. If a patient fails to show up for three appointments, that patient may be subject to disengagement, as outlined in the “Patient Appointment ‘No Show’” Policy and Procedures (3.004, Section 4.5).

|[pic] |HOT TIP: Disengagement is the process by which UNT Health terminates the continuation of services to |[pic] |

| |a patient, due to any of the policy violations outlined in the “Patient Disengagement” P&P. | |

1. If a patient does not show up for their appointment, start by selecting “Patient Management” from the Front Office Functions section of the Main Menu.

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2. Enter the Patient’s Name and select “Schedule Appointment” from the Inquiry Menu on the left.

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3. Select “Patient” from the Display Schedules sub-menu on the left.

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4. Highlight the existing Appointment and select “No-Show” from the Scheduling Functions sub-menu on the left.

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5. Enter “NS” as the No Show “Change Reason”

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6. Select “Update”

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7. The system generates an “Encounter Was Revised” confirmation message (including Encounter Number), along with an updated Patient Schedule listing the Appointment as “NO SHOW”

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8. Complete the Missed Appointment Triage Flow Sheet and, if applicable, the Checklist for Patient Disengagement and the Patient Disengagement Letter.

Place all completed forms in the patient’s chart. Be sure to include the patient’s name, phone number, doctor, and whether this is the first, second or third time the patient has no-showed for an appointment.

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