Reducing no-shows

Prevent medication diversion

When we see new patients in our office who complain of ongoing problems with back and neck pain or headaches, we automatically request their prior medical records. We also call nearby pharmacies to ensure that no other doctors are prescribing narcotics for them. It would be great if more offices followed this process to stop the diversion of pain medications.

Highlight immunizations in charts

When I administer an immunization and document the expiration date, lot number, area and type of immunization in the patient's chart, I use a yellow highlighter pen to draw attention to the note. I've found that this enables us to quickly see whether patients' immunizations are up-to-date without lots of flipping through the chart. This is especially helpful when I perform school physicals or when I haven't seen a patient in a while.