One of the best analysis I have done of my practice is one of time. Let me explain. In today's world, various demands are place on us on a daily basis, which forces us all to be time conscious. People are in more of a hurry than ever before and whether you like or not, coming to see you is another "thing" on their list. That said, how quickly you office is able to get patients in and not, while delivering unmatched value will determine to some degree, how long they will stay with you.

The study I routinely do in my office is simple. I have a designated staff member time the "door to door time". This means that my staff member chooses at random, at least twenty sample patients over the course of a week, and time how long they are in the office from the minute they walk in to when they leave.

In our office, we aim at welcoming, adjusting and processing a patient under 10 minutes. If this study reveals that we are accomplishing this, we all celebrate and the time study ends there. However, if the study reveals that we are slow (more than ten minutes on average), then we follow up with more studies.

We need to then determine where we are slow and I have discovered there are 3 possible areas:
1. Waiting time
2. Adjustments
3  Processing the patient at the front desk after his or her adjustment

Over the next weeks, the same staff member executes time studies on 20 more random patients for each of the three possibilities mentioned above. The results are then discussed and action is taken immediately to improve the culprit.

If you are serious about constantly improving your patient experience, this is the dedication you need to have to customer service. While it is your choice to do this, it is also your patient's choice to stay in your practice or move to a more efficient office.

-Clayton