A good proportion of healthcare delivery in the US happens on the fly. Even when an office visit is scheduled in advance, many practices don’t start any work on a patient until they see the whites of their eyes. Mrs. Jones shows up, and we look through the chart to see what needs to be done in the moment. This approach opens the door for inefficiency, ineffectiveness, missed opportunities, poor experience, and low-quality outcomes.

Work smarter not harder is a phrase often heard in many settings, not just healthcare but what does that mean in the primary care world? How can we work smarter not harder when there is so much work to be done?  Change in any form can be difficult and scary, especially when it involves new technology.  Finding the right solution and gaining buy-in from providers and team members can be the most difficult part of this process even if the solution will make their job easier.  The key is to engage the affected team members early on, share the vision, acknowledge the loss of the old way, and give them opportunities to participate in the process.

Pre-visit planning is a strategy used to maximize the benefits of a healthcare visit with extra preparation, focusing the appointment, and creating a patient-specific care plan. Overall, pre-visit planning ensures a smoothly operating clinic and benefits both patients and healthcare providers.

The strategies involved in pre-visit planning are meant to streamline appointments, improve communication between patients and providers, increase physician and clinic profitability and enhance the quality of medical care provided at a given clinic.

It is no secret that healthcare has been in crisis — a staffing crisis. While the pandemic certainly exacerbated the situation, present workloads, emerging patterns contrary to traditional practice, and burnout are only the latest in a long line of factors straining the healthcare workforce.