THE ENLIGHTENED OFFICE

Form may follow function ….

…. But in your office layout, it must translate into efficiency.

By Cynthia Matossian, MD, FACS

Before you go home today, take a long look at your office layout. What do you see? A front desk by the entry, diagnostic stations near the front desk, exam rooms on this side and that side of a wall, executive offices nowhere in sight.

You’re saying, “It works for us; what’s the point?”

One more question will get us to the point. Do you believe that efficiency translates into a positive bottom line? If you concur, then the layout of your office should not be solely for your benefit, or staff’s. It should be for your patients’. The fewer times they have to move, the easier they flow through the office. This ease expedites the visit and makes the patient’s visit more efficient from start to finish.

This time-savings means you can see more patients in a day.

But nothing this good comes easy. Being this efficient takes time to learn, to plan, to act on.

FLOW IS CRITICAL

Physicians, generally speaking, aren’t good at seeking advice from other professionals. But resist the urge to design the office layout on your own. I always seek the advice of an architectural specialist who has been in the field and understands ophthalmology.

The architect also understands that the exam rooms will cost you the most money per square foot. He knows as well that testing rooms and exam lanes will generate the most revenue.

In our offices, we have pods. A pod is a group of exam rooms with an associated tech station and dilation area that is assigned to one physician. The testing areas and the surgical scheduler’s office are centrally located which can be accessed from the pods. If you have elderly patients, like I do, you don’t want patients to take many steps — some have canes, others, walkers. Regardless, they take time.

The shortest distance is the most profitable distance and leaves patients with the best impression of their visit experience.

SCHEDULING

Another critical factor in reaching maximum efficiency is scheduling. We have three offices and 14 eyecare providers, so we try not to schedule the same specialty at the same time in the same office. For example, if I have a cataract surgery patient in pod 1, and I send my patient for biometry and topography, our retinal surgeon in pod 2 won’t need the IOLMaster (Carl Zeiss Meditec) or the OPD III (Nidek). There is no fighting for the same equipment. Our physicians also have staggered start times. The physicians scheduled to see patients in the same office come in one hour apart to make the check-in process easier for the front desk and to help pace our technicians.

DILATION

Each pod also has a dilation area. Patients who get dilation drops wait their time there, and can use our complimentary Wi-Fi system. We have a timed light system set for each patient; when the bulb lights up, indicating that patient’s pupils have dilated, an appointed staff member takes the patient into the testing area and then into the exam lane. Letting a patient languish wastes time and money.

We are redesigning a New Jersey office. Although three years old, it is not as patient friendly as it should be. When we’re finished, it too will be well choreographed, for our patients and our bottom line. OM

Cynthia Matossian, MD, FACS, is the founder of Matossian Eye Associates. Her e-mail is cmatossian@matossianeye.com