Computer VS Paper Appointment books, by Dr. Ogi Ressel

Wednesday, June 17th 2009

Warm hellos to everyone!

Christie's message is excellent - this THOT is from her.
Please consider her words carefully and I'll talk with you next week.

Warmest wishes,
Dr. Ogi Ressel

Warm hellos to everyone once again,

It seems that I'm addicted to talking to all of you!
I wanted to take a minute of your time and talk to you about computer vs.
paper appointment books. Some doctors out there are still living in the times
of the pilgrims - the Jurassic Era comes to mind! You refuse to get rid of your
paper appointment books.
Why?
Hmmm....we're not sure.

Let's look at this logically....

Mary calls your office asking when her next appointment is. Unless your CA
has her schedule memorized (which shouldn't be necessary, and if it is then
you need a life), she has to flip through numerous pages, scanning up and
down to see where Mary's name appears. And is that really Mary's next appointment
or did your CA just miss her name on another page? A job that should have only
taken seconds, now takes minutes - even up to 15 in some cases. What a waste!

Maybe some doctors simply like to pay your CA's for inefficient time.
Think about it.
Each time one of your patients is put on a schedule of care, (which better be
each and every patient in your office!) your CA has to handwrite every appointment
down. If the patient then changes his/her mind and decides few weeks down the
road that the days and times aren't working out for them, then what? Your CA
now has to go back...erase all the old appointment times and re-write all of the
new ones. That's INSANITY! God forbid your CA be interrupted with a phone call
or a new patient....they may forget to input one of the appointments - a thing that
a good computer program could take care of in seconds. (yes, seconds)
See my point?

Another concern I have with these types of appointment books is that your
patient accounts are never up-to-date. They should ALWAYS be. It should be
done instantaneously on the COMPUTER. Not at the end or beginning of the day.
Always. 24/7. Period. No exceptions.

Now let's look at this from a patient's perspective. It's the year 2006 and some
doctors haven't quite realized that fact. Blackberry's are everywhere, cell phones
are being used by children - it's uncool if they don't have one, and computers
are portable. Computers are even replacing the jobs of people! Now imagine how
a patient must feel coming into an office where the doctor claims he knows his
"stuff" and is the "best" in town but the patient sees nothing but outdated
procedures. Imagine that same patient asking to schedule an appointment and
watching in awe and amazement as one of the staff members pulls out a HUGE
book filled with sticky notes and crumpled paper. They've just been pulled into
a time warp! Have you just made an impression on the patient? Sure. You've
impressed upon them that you're either too cheap and outdated to get a computer
or that you've freshly just come out of a cryogenic freezing process. Not okay.

Don't be mistaken by thinking that patients don't observe how your office is run.
They do. If they think an office is unorganized and outdated, guess what? Chances
are you are also. And they probably won't stay.

Why?
Because they will feel that the doctor and staff are haphazard and have no clue
what they are doing.

I can already hear some of you: "Well, Christie...I don't have a computer program
because my CA is not computer literate." For all of you out there with this type of
CA problem and constipated thinking I have something to tell you. If part of your
CA's job is to use a computer program, then that is what she needs to do.
End of story! That is what you pay him/her for! Not the other way around.

You do not create procedures in your office to accommodate your staff.
No. You create procedures in your office to accommodate your patients - and
you! Otherwise, what kind of service are you providing? I heard one doctor say
to me: "Hey, this is Kentucky. I'm lucky to hire a CA who has teeth."
...As long as she knows what a computer looks like....

Another common problem I hear is that CA's lack control at the front desk with
paper appointment books.
Why you ask?
Because the patients can SEE the book lying flat in front of them and will point
to times that are empty. This creates a problem for two reasons;

1. People go where people go because people go where people go! You don't 
   want you patients to see empty times EVER in your office! They'll interpret you
   appointment book any number of ways if they don't understand it.

2. It creates a battle for your CA's at the front. Trying to tell a patient they can't
   come in during a quiet time when they can plainly see the space is open,
   presents a difficulty.

You are lucky. There is one computer program I recommend for everyone - only
one program.  It is called The Better System. Our clinic was a test site for its
development and it is amazing. E-mail us if you'd like information regarding it.
It is the most simplistic program I have ever used and tracks everything for you.
For those of you that like "paper trails" of things you've done.....it's got you
covered. I used to see hundreds of people in a day all by myself using this
program. It's really really easy to use.

Please call me and I'll have them send you out a test CD where you can "play"
and experiment.

So...get rid of your constipated ways and join us all in 2006! You'll be much happier!

Until our next chit chat!
Christie