MANAGING YOUR SCHEDULE FOLAKE OSHODI, MD

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KNOW YOURSELF Determine: A. Which periods of the day/week are most valuable to you, what days/times will you absolutely not give up. B. When do you work best (i.e. when will you feel most capable of returning phone calls, calling in prescriptions, and seeing patients).

KNOW YOURSELF Scenario: Dr. Smith enjoys having her evenings free however, she is in the process of growing her practice and is taking more patients at times she normally would like free for herself. Dr. Smith is becoming resentful.

Not All Time Is Created Equal In private practice one of most valuable commodities is your time because there is always something to do: Direct patient care Marketing Return phone calls Prior Authorizations Write school reports Review notes (Connors scales, psychology reports etc)

Not All Time Is Created Equal Consider setting your fees to reflect times of days that are most valuable. For example, If evenings are valuable to you, you may offer evening fees at a higher rate, while daytime fees are set at a lower rate to encourage patients to fill your daytime slots.

Not All Time Is Created Equal Consider certain types of appointments at certain times of the day. For example, you may consider seeing psychiatric evaluations during the mornings and medication management cases in the afternoon.

Not All Time Is Created Equal Scenario Dr. Smith realizes that she has started to become resentful at being in the office past 7pm. She now has decided to have two late nights a week in the office. She has increased her evening rates to reflect how valuable this time is for her. She now feels more at ease with her evening hours.

Consider Your Community Is your office in a residential community or a commercial community? If your office is in a residential community will most of your patients come to you before work and school (early morning) and after work and school (late afternoons/evenings)? If your office is in a commercial community will most patients come to you during the work/school day?

Consider Your Community Scenario: Dr. Smith’s office is in a residential area. She realizes that for quite a few of her patients being seen in the mornings and evenings would be better. Since she has adjusted her schedule to accommodate two evenings a week. She will now also see children and adults in the early mornings two days a week.

There is always something to do Scenario: Dr. Smith finds that she is very busy on those days she comes in early mornings. After seeing her patients in the early morning she has dedicated one hour to attend to certain tasks: Returning phone calls Prior authorizations Calling for collateral Reading and writing reports (for schools, parents and camps).

Try Different Scheduling Formats As your lifestyle changes so should your practice. Patients will adjust. Scenario Dr. Smith started her practice one year ago and offered Saturday hours at that time. Now she no longer wants to give up her weekends. She has informed her patients and they have adjusted accordingly.

Taking Time Off Finding Coverage: Ask a colleague and you can always offer to cover for your colleague when he/she is on vacation. If you have trouble finding someone ask your colleagues for recommendations and offer a small compensation for coverage. For extended coverages (i.e. injury, maternity leave etc.) consider having multiple doctors cover.

Taking Time Off Scenario Dr. Smith was preparing for a three month maternity leave. She has a very busy practice and wants to make sure not to overburden her coverage. She has chosen to have one colleague cover her for the first 6 weeks and another colleague for the next 6 weeks. She has decided to compensate them a small fee.

In Summary Assess the time you need for yourself (you won’t be able to attend to your patients if you don’t attend to yourself). Strike a balance between the time frames that are most valuable to you and the times that are most desirable for your community. Remember that even when your not seeing patients there is still a lot to do. Try different scheduling formats, patients will adjust.

In Summary Taking time off is essential. Your colleagues will want to help.