Page 27 - 2022 Risk Basics - Systems

SVMIC Risk Basics: Systems

recommended treatment course. Follow-up should be appropriate for

the patient’s specific circumstances. The reasonableness of the follow-
up effort will depend on the clinical importance of the test results, the

severity of the patient’s medical condition, and the risk associated with
failing to notify the patient of the results.

A patient portal may also offer options designed to facilitate appointment

management. The physician may opt to only allow the patient to view
existing appointments but not allow a patient to schedule or cancel

an appointment without contacting the office. Patients find portals
convenient and time-saving. Verify that the patient’s appointment view

is enabled so they may view all of their appointments on the portal. If
your protocol is to ask patients to speak with an office staff member

for appointment scheduling, enable a standard patient response to a
patient’s attempt to schedule, reschedule, or cancel an appointment via

the patient portal. Ideally, a team member should promptly review all
patient attempts to schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments via the

patient portal, and allow the team member to email an acknowledgment
from the practice and a confirmation of the patient’s requested actions or

alternative suggestions.

If the patient portal allows the patient to self-schedule an appointment,

the convenience to the patient should be weighed against the potential
for an urgent condition to go untreated for an extended period of time.

If the patient is allowed to self-schedule appointments, incorporate
language outlining urgent or emergent conditions to seek immediate

care. Outline other conditions when the patient should not self-schedule
but rather should call the office for an appointment.

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