Page 51 - 2022 Risk Basics - Surgical Practice

SVMIC Risk Basics: Surgical Practice

All office staff, including physicians, should make every effort to

adhere to a timely schedule. Patients have little tolerance for
wait times in excess of 15–20 minutes. If the physician is

running behind, the patient should be informed and given an

opportunity to reschedule. Patients should be notified as soon
as possible if changes in the schedule must occur.

Confirmation calls 1-2 days prior to the patient’s appointment
provide both the reminder notification of the upcoming

appointment and opportunity for the patient to reschedule if

necessary. This reduces the incidence of patient no-shows and
patients lost to follow-up.

There are times when an unscheduled patient will present to

the office. Your office should have protocols that include the
approval of the physician or other clinical staff before turning a

patient away.

CASE STUDY

A 37-year-old female, five days post-op cholecystectomy

presented to the emergency department for nausea and
increased pain “from her surgery”. Following an

examination an endoscopy was ordered. No abnormalities
were noted, and the patient was thought to be constipated.

She was given an enema and discharged with instructions

to follow up with the surgeon two days later. The surgeon
did not note this in the office record, nor did he inform the

office staff that the patient should be seen. When the

patient phoned for an appointment, the scheduler,

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