The other day I wrote a message about appointment books and really knowing and being realistic about how long treatments take. I received some messages saying that zoning doesn’t work. After some questions about how the zoning was implemented, I agreed, zoning done badly wont work. Here are some of the biggest errors people make when zoning their appointment books.
1) Zoning not done in connection with the budgets and cash-flow forecasts
2)Zoning done on too short a time frame eg a week
3) No clear definition of rocks, stones, sand.
4) Rock and stone zones too short.
5) Implemented as a top down directive without engagement of clinicians, nurses or front of house.
When done well, zoning will make your days so much more predictable, stress free and your income predictable.
How to create a smooth running stress free appointment book
- Begin with the end in mind. The more clarity you and your colleagues have, the easier it is to create it.
- Be accurate and honest about how much clinical time is available. Think about holidays, CPD days, team trainings, team meetings, stand up huddles, sick days, snow days, etc
- Know how much your practice must create each year, each month, each day. Spend time with your budgets and cash flow forecasts and know what you must generate to provide the level of care you are providing now and the improvements you want to make.
- Identify your rock, stone and sand treatments. With your team identify what is important, your priorities and define rocks stones and sand in terms of length of appointment, urgency, etc
- Know how much time you need for emergency and urgent treatment on a daily basis. Your reception teams get calls, it is not acceptable to tell your patients you don’t have time, there are no appointments or just to call 111. You have a duty of care to the patients on your books to treat them well. Ask your reception team how many calls you get, know how long it takes to treat each patient appropriately.
- Engage your team. Your team have valuable knowledge, involve them in the process of developing the zoning. when they have helped design it they will use it correctly.
- Create the jigsaw puzzle. Zoning your diary is like building a jigsaw puzzle, spend time moving the pieces around, until you have the picture that works for your practice.
- Implement, review, amend, repeat. Zoning your diary is not a one-time job. You will have overlooked things in your first prototype, your practice will evolve, the treatments you offer will develop. Continually review, and improve your zoning.
Zoning can be difficult and many throw the baby out with the bathwater, zoning is not the problem the design and implementation is. If you want to fast tract the process and get closer to perfect first time, e mail me and I can show you how to do it well Jane@IODB.co.uk
