Streamlining workflow to increase patient satisfaction in ambulatory care settings

Maintaining a high level of patient satisfaction is imperative in the healthcare world. Satisfaction levels remain high when a patient perceives they have received the best care possible. An important factor that determines how a patient feels about the care received is the amount of time spent in the office. Examined throughout this process were previous actions taken to increase patient satisfaction, areas in need of further tweaking and outcomes once workflow changes were instituted. Discovered was whether or not workflow truly has any impact on patient satisfaction scores. There are many issues that can lead to the breakdown of proper flow throughout an ambulatory care office. Proper workflow in the ambulatory care setting must thus be a priority for the healthcare leader. Current research obtained via a literature review, suggested multiple areas to focus on in order to make the proper changes to enhance workflow. There are three main areas of focus to create the right flow. Those areas were: 1) registration, 2) back office (exam room), and 3) check-out process. As part of this change the healthcare leader must assess what the current flow of these areas might be, and then make improvements to better patient flow. There were challenges when creating these changes, especially in the back office, as part of the process was to discuss changes within the exam process itself. However when these changes were made overall improvement of the office was realized. The overall goal of this project was to increase patient satisfaction and therefore patient loyalty to any given ambulatory care office. Keywords: Health Care Administration, Dr. Gail Young, patient satisfaction, workflow, enhance.