Accreditation

Study offers ways to provide all patients with same-day appointments

Accreditation Connection, April 2, 2007

A recent study published by two Columbia University professors and a physician, and backed by The Joint Commission, aims to improve patient satisfaction by setting up a system to offer all patients same-day appointments.

The study, "Providing Timely Access to Care: What is the Right Patient Panel Size," devises a mathematical model to help doctors with their scheduling, based off of the advanced access theory.

The system uses an Excel spreadsheet to predict how many daily patient appointment requests a physician can accommodate by keeping availability for same-day patients. It allows physicians to manage their schedule by determining how many patients they want to treat.

The study was originally published in a February issue of BusinessWeek.com.

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