Central Appointment Systems: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
One of my new tasks (a week or so away) is to manage the Central Appointment Booking System at the hospital. With over 1400 calls on average per business week (excludes weekends) this is a busy place. The sad reality is that nailing down reasons for dropped calls is not quite as easy as seeing how many appointment clerks were manning the phone system. But its a good start.
I know what some of you are thinking...why not set up an online appointment system? Yep, it exists http://www.tricareonline.com/ Why doesn't this help take care of the patient? Its a stirring tale of trying to mix legacy procedures and systems with new fangled ideas and technology. And it doesn't suit every situation since it is "one size fits all" booking.
What is needed is holistic change of systems when you attempt this sort of thing, not incrementalism. But people are resistant to change on this magnitude and procedures/systems are even more resistant. "You cannot put new wine into an old wineskin."
8:37:59 PM 
|
