Dos and don'ts for scheduling: Procedural time studies and hygiene production

2014 02 13 13 44 50 61 Practice Success200x200

Most offices allot a single, predetermined length of time for hygiene appointments. In reality, many patients do not need as long as the standard appointment, and a few patients will occasionally need more. By having the hygienist perform procedural time studies, you will end up with a far more efficient hygiene schedule.

2009 06 04 09 39 24 473 Disp Do

Determine procedure times. Have the hygienist perform time studies for each procedure, such as basic hygiene, scaling and root planing, and ancillary services. Too often, assumptions are made about how long these procedures take that may not be accurate.

2009 06 04 09 39 35 525 Disp Dont

Don't use 15-minute time increments for hygiene appointments. Using 10-minute increments for hygienists increases productivity in much the same way as it does for doctors. Some hygiene appointments may only need 40 minutes, not 45. Five minutes may not seem like much, but if this occurs several times throughout the course of the day, substantial unused time can build up in the hygiene schedule.

Copyright © 2010 DrBicuspid.com

Page 1 of 350
Next Page