A veterinarian approached me during the break for my practice management seminars at MiVetCon in Novi, Mich. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. Seeing her raw emotions, I asked, “Can I hug you?” She opened her arms and we embraced. I felt her tension and then heard a sigh. “I’m so exhausted as a one-doctor practice,” she explained. “You just gave me answers to get my schedule back.”
In my session on “Solve Your Doctor Shortage with Strategically Scheduled Exams,” I shared how to turn a client-driven chaotic schedule into a practice-focused schedule. Client service representatives (CSRs) and veterinarians need to create guardrails that let them organize patient care for efficiency. Here are top strategies that may have you sighing with relief, too.
Pre-block checkups. Reserve the first appointment of the day, first exam after lunch, and last appointment for checkups. Starting your day with a checkup encourages a positive mindset. An easy-peasy checkup is more calming than vomiting and diarrhea for three weeks. Blocking a checkup as the first exam after lunch lets you hit the reset button and start the afternoon on time. Ending with a checkup ensures you and your team will go home on time.
Sandwich sick patient exams between checkups. Avoid the schedule-derailing pattern of three sick patient exams in a row. You will get behind. Aim for the scheduling pattern of checkup/sick patient/checkup. Preventive care is more predictable and likely to stay on time. Checkups are guardrails that contain the sick patient exam.
Create level 1 and 2 exam types. A Level 1 sick patient exam is a 30-minute appointment for conditions such as illness and limping. A Level 2 sick patient exam is 40 minutes for diarrhea, vomiting, or multiple symptoms.
A Level 1 progress exam is 10 minutes for follow-up care on minor problems, such as an ear infection. A 20-minute Level 2 progress exam is for complex problems, such as continuing care on skin or diabetes. Veterinarians will define conditions for Level 1 and 2 exams so CSRs may follow appointment scheduling guidelines. Charge exam fees based on the level and appointment length (time is money).
Pre-block urgent care slots. Clients will call every morning with sick patients that need same-day care. Be a hero and plan your schedule. Block four to six 30-minute urgent care slots per doctor per day. You may need more reserved slots on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, when most practices have higher sick-patient demands. If your practice is closed on Sundays, you may have more urgent care needs on Mondays. Fridays see a spike for clients whose pets became ill on Tuesdays, and they took a wait-and-see approach. Conditions worsened and now they need urgent care. Saturdays have increased demands for clients who work weekdays and prefer weekend appointments.
Stagger urgent care blocks by one hour in multi-doctor practices. This eliminates bottlenecks in the treatment area, laboratory, and radiography when several patients need workups. You will also prevent the steal-the-technician game among doctors. Block urgent care appointments about every 90 minutes. Here’s an example of urgent care blocks when two doctors are seeing outpatient appointments:
| Doctor 1 urgent care slots | Doctor 2 urgent care slots |
| 9:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| 10:30 a.m. | 11:30 a.m. |
| 12:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. |
| 1:30 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. |
| 3:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. |
| 4:30 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. |
Reserve the last urgent care slot 60 to 90 minutes before closing. If your practice closes at 6 p.m., your last urgent care slot will be at 4:30 p.m. Never have your last appointment of the day as an urgent care slot. You and your team risk working late, and you are paying overtime.
If you are a practice owner or manager who is anxious about having six empty appointments held in your daily schedule, do not fret. Urgent care slots always get taken. If you are skeptical, release unused urgent care slots 90 minutes before the reserved block. Let’s say you have an urgent care block at 11 a.m. It is now 9:30 a.m. and miraculously, no one has called with a sick pet that needs to be seen today. Your next call is a client who adopted a kitten over the weekend and needs an appointment. Gleefully reply, “Congratulations on your new baby! We’d love to meet your kitten today. I have an appointment available at 11 a.m. Can we see you then?”
Tell, do not ask when clients request appointments. If you let clients control your schedule, you will end up with chaos. Scheduling is an art and science. CSRs need to guide clients to appointment times that have efficient workflow. Rather than ask clients when they want to come in, use the yes-or-yes technique. Say, “My next available checkup is <date, time 1> or <date, time 2>. Which do you prefer?”
Bonus tip: Many practices are booking three or more weeks out for checkups. Do not disappoint clients by explaining you do not have any appointments available until next month. The phrase of “my next available appointment” focuses on what you can do.
Forward book everything. If follow-up care is need, schedule a progress exam today, especially if you’re booking several weeks out. This ensures the patient gets timely care and can see the same doctor. Just like dentists, clients should book their next checkups at checkout. Six out of 10 pet owners will forward book their pets’ checkups.1 Use a comparison that clients already understand. Say, “Just as your dentist has you schedule your next appointment at checkout, we do the same to proactively manage your pet’s health. Dr. could see your pet at <date, time 1> or <date, time 2>. Which do you prefer?” Forward booking leads to better patient care and guarantees future practice revenue.
Get administrative tasks done with doctor-client communication blocks. Veterinarians need administrative time to review lab results, update medical records, approve prescriptions, and call/text/email clients and vendors. Without dedicated time for administrative duties, veterinarians risk job burnout and mental health.
Reserve three 20-minute slots at mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and near the end of the day such as 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. If a client calls at 11 a.m. about her cat’s lab results and asks to speak with the veterinarian, the CSR can explain, “Dr. is seeing patient appointments now and will be available between 2:30 and 2:50 p.m. to return calls. What is the best phone number to reach you, and may the doctor also text you?” You’ll set expectations and may be able to turn a callback into a faster “textback” for appropriate types of communication.
Save your sanity. Reclaim control of your schedule with strategies that work best for your team and practice.
Wendy S. Myers, CVJ, has taught communication and client service skills for more than two decades. As founder of Communication Solutions for Veterinarians, she teaches practical skills through online courses, onsite coaching, and conferences. Myers was a partner in a specialty and emergency practice. Visit YouTube.com/csvets and Csvets.com for more.
Reference
- Forward Booking: How Forward Booking Leads to Better Patient Care. AAHA. Available at: https://www.aaha.org/globalassets/04-practice-resources/Forward-booking. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.