The Hickory Medical Clinic recently conducted a patient satisfaction survey. Using a scale of 1–5, with 1 being “very dissatisfied” and 5 being “very satisfied,” the clinic compiled a check sheet for responses that were either 1 or 2, indicating dissatisfaction with the performance attributes. Exhibit 7.10 shows the count of patients that scored the process attribute as a 1 (very dissatisfied) or 2 (dissatisfied) out of 100 patients surveyed.

Doctors have extremely busy schedules. They have surgeries to perform, and many are teaching faculty at the local medical school. Many surgeries are emergencies or take longer than expected, resulting in delays of getting back to the clinic. In the clinic, one or two telephone receptionists answer calls for three different surgical departments, which include 20 or more doctors. The receptionist’s job is to schedule appointments, provide directions, and transfer calls to the proper doctor’s administrative (department) scheduler. This generally requires putting the patient on hold. Often, the receptionist must take a hand-written message and personally deliver it to the department’s scheduler because the phone line is always busy. However, the receptionist cannot leave his or her desk without someone else to cover the phones. A student intern examined the processes for answering phone calls and registering patients. The flowcharts she developed are shown in Exhibits 7.11. (An encounter form captures the patient check-in information.)

Case Questions for Discussion:
1. What conclusions do you reach from the satisfaction survey results? What implications would this have for a better process design?
2. Propose some process improvements to the flowcharts and develop new flowchart(s) of the redesigned process(es). Cite key advantages and disadvantages of your flowchart(s).
3. How should the organization implement the new process plans?

Transcribed Image Text:

EXHIBIT 7.10 The Number of Patient's Dissatisfied with the Process Making an Appointment Ease of getting through on the phone-10 Friendliness of the telephone receptionist-5 Convenience of office hours-7 Ease of getting a convenient appointment-12 Check-in/Check-out Care and Treatment Courtesy and helpfulness of the receptionist-7 Respect shown by nurses/assistants-0 Amount of time to register-1 Responsiveness to phone calls related to care-5 How well the physician listened-3 Confidence in the physician's ability-1 Length of wait to see a physician-13 Comfort of registration waiting area-4 Explanation of medical condition and treatment-2