Unit 39

Appointment Schedules

Basic Principles of Scheduling Appointments

• Scheduling appointments efficiently is important in any health care facility.

• Done correctly, it eliminates long waiting times for patients and unscheduled time for health care personnel.

Basic Principles of Scheduling Appointments

• In most health care agencies, appointment scheduling is done by computer.

• Manual scheduling of appointments involves the use of an appointment book.

Basic Principles of Scheduling Appointments

• In the example appointment schedule shown on the next slide, the left-hand column is marked with the time periods represented.

• Each line equals a 15-minute block of time. – If an appointment takes longer than 15

minutes, an arrow is drawn to indicate the time period needed.

Basic Principles of Scheduling Appointments

Appointment Schedules

• Example: On the sample schedule shown previously, who has a 9:30 appointment on Tuesday, and how long is the appointment?– Check the column for time and note what

is listed: Matt Kiser has the 9:30 appointment, and 15 minutes are blocked off for the appointment.

Practical Problem

• Again using the sample appointment schedule for 6/23, when is Dennis Bartlett scheduled for his appointment, and for how long is his appointment scheduled?

Practical Problem

• According to the schedule, Dennis Bartlett is scheduled for a 30-minute appointment at 9:45 a.m.