Precision Scheduling - Right Care at the Right Time

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Precision Medicine' has emerged from growing recognition that factors specific to an individual patient strongly influence healthcare outcomes. Diverse studies demonstrate the benefits of tailoring clinical management to fit a particular patient’s situation. Yet, when it comes to scheduling specialty visits, most health systems have taken a cookie cutter approach in which sooner is always better. We have implemented a new process, termed Precision Scheduling, in which the timing of a specialty visit is informed by the distinctive needs of the patient. Since there is wide variability in a patient’s specific clinical presentation and personal situation, when it comes to scheduling a specialty appointment, “one time does not fit all”. Precision Scheduling seeks to improve patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, system efficiency, and cost of care by better matching clinical care to an individual’s circumstances. Precision Scheduling is achieved when a specialty appointment is scheduled for the specific interval mutually agreed upon by the primary care provider and the specialist after an electronic, asynchronous discussion of the patient’s clinical needs. In a 2019 assessment of 23,000 patients scheduled for specialty care visits, we found that, using the Precision Scheduling approach, 73% of our patients were scheduled within their uniquely customized timeframe. Patient factors (patient preference for a later appointment or those who could not be reached promptly for scheduling) accounted for 44% of those who did not meet their recommended timeframes. We have found that Precision Scheduling enables us to cost-effectively use our specialty care resources by ensuring that each specialty visit is of the highest possible value and not scheduled in a manner that needlessly wastes patient or provider time, nor places patients at unnecessary risk. In this era of Precision Medicine, Precision Scheduling facilitates the delivery of specialty care not too early, not too late, but “just right”.