As healthcare professionals, our days are filled with many tasks, such as patient encounters, documentation, and administrative work, not to mention keeping track of a household or family. Time management becomes crucial in ensuring that we provide quality care while maintaining our well-being. In this blog, we'll explore some valuable pearls for efficient clinical time management, and I’ll note some tips that have worked well for me.
Preparation:
Whether you see patients in an acute care or ambulatory setting, review the chart before entering the patient room. Note lab or imaging results, review what happened in the last encounter, and consider a plan for the current encounter. This brief review helps create a mental agenda, ensuring all important issues are addressed.
Different providers may prefer to conduct this prep at various times - the day before, during the preceding visit, or before starting the day. In my primary care clinic, I review the schedule in the morning and spend 3-5 minutes before each visit pre-charting, pending orders, and starting a note. In addition to feeling more grounded during the visit, patients appreciate it when I’m prepared and knowledgeable about their history and ongoing medical concerns.
Agenda-Setting:
Initiate the encounter by setting the agenda. In a clinic setting, my favorite question is, “What’s on your mind today”? In an acute care or hospital practice, you might start by asking, “How are things going?”, “What brings you in?”, or “What are your main concerns?” Asking open-ended questions encourages patients to express their concerns up front. It allows you to plan the time to address everything during the encounter, preventing the need for questions as you walk out the door.
Remember, each patient's agenda may vary, so it's essential to remain flexible. Encourage patients to share all their concerns at the beginning of the visit, using prompts like "What else?" to ensure nothing is missed. When you are aware of what needs to be addressed at the beginning of the encounter, you can plan the time spent with the patient accordingly. Additionally, if there are more concerns than can be addressed in the allotted time, you can advise the patient of the appropriate expectations from the start. At the end of the visit, ask “What questions do you have?” before leaving, making sure that the patient feels satisfied and preventing follow-up messages later.
Documentation:
During the visit, document efficiently without sacrificing the patient-provider interaction. Set up your workspace in a way that allows you to document while maintaining eye contact and engaging with the patient. Focus on capturing essential information rather than striving for perfect prose. I use bullet points instead of prose - it’s easier to complete during the visit and review quickly down the road. I also create a list of follow-up items at the end of each note, ensuring continuity of care in future encounters.
Outside of Clinical Work:
Try to accomplish all tasks within the office or hospital environment to maintain a healthy work-life balance whenever possible. Allocate specific time frames for working on particular tasks - I check my results and messages in the morning before starting clinic, during lunch, and before leaving for the day. Embrace batching - grouping similar tasks together to streamline your workflow. Enlist the help of your hospital or corporate leadership to see what tasks can be assigned to other team members to lighten some of the administrative workload. Some systems already utilize Artificial Intelligence to answer patient messages, which will be an exciting development!
Prioritize Self-Care
Outside of the day-to-day practice of medicine, think about what goals you have for yourself - both professional and personal. Do you want to run a marathon? Get a promotion? Write a journal article? If so, what do you need to do to get there? Set strong boundaries surrounding your clinical work hours in order to have time to pursue your passions outside of medicine.
In conclusion, effective time management is essential for healthcare professionals to deliver quality care while maintaining personal well-being. By implementing these pearls - such as thorough visit preparation, agenda-setting, efficient documentation, and strategic task batching - you can optimize clinic efficiency and enhance the patient experience. Remember to adapt these strategies to suit your workflow and preferences, ultimately improving patient outcomes and clinician satisfaction.
Top Time-Wasters (and what to do about them!)
- Phone calls → check messages and return calls no more than 1–2 times per day
- Email → check no more than 3–4 times per day; disable auto-alert messages for mail arrivals
- Physical interruptions → close the office door (or use headphones!) and respect as colleagues do the same
- Papers → handle each piece of paper only once; scan papers into a system as PDF to keep track electronically
- Repetitive activity → automate, use smart-phrases or quick texts in EHR, delegate
- Disorganization → clean/organize your desk and office
- Procrastination → accomplish small increments of progress on a project; do not allow perfectionism to get in the way of progress
- Commuting → enjoy music, books on tape, quiet self-reflection, relax; use the time to listen to Hippo’s podcast offerings to earn CME while commuting
