Educate and Train Staff
Time to Complete: 1 day
Difficulty: Easy; challenges include staff resistance to change
Outcome: Trained staff to put changes into practice
Steps
Keep staff informed
- Schedule a staff meeting to discuss planned changes to practice operation.
- Consider showing the AAFP video "Improve the Patient Experience" to refresh staff about same-day appointment scheduling.
- Inform staff about how planned changes will impact their daily activities.
- Share timeline for project completion and implementation of open-access scheduling.
Prepare for challenges
- Be prepared to address staff resistance to planned changes. Read FPM's article "Implementing Change: From Idea to Reality" for more information.
- Provide information about the benefits of open-access scheduling.
- Share some of the challenges the practice currently faces, such as no-shows and long waits for appointments, and their impact on patient care, practice finances and staff work flow.
What You Will Need
- Meetings to keep staff informed.
- A computer with Internet access to show the video.
- In case you face staff resistance to open-access scheduling, it is helpful to compile some information on the benefits of same-day appointments. Share this information with all staff that may be affected by the changes in your practice. (See Example section.)
Example
Read this FPM article for an example of the results of open-access scheduling when a clinic implemented it: "The Outcomes of Open-Access Scheduling."
Where to Go for Help
Read the following FPM article to learn more about the challenges of implementing changes in a medical practice and how to overcome them: "Implementing Change: From Idea to Reality."
Join a free collaborative online network committed to practice transformation. Learn more about Delta-Exchange.
This Patient-Centered Medical Home section of the AAFP web site was supported in part by a grant from Merck & Co.
This Patient-Centered Medical Home section of the AAFP web site was supported in part by a grant from Merck & Co.
