How to prepare your practice for the holiday rush: Staffing, scheduling, and patient communication tips
Access expert tips on patient communication, staffing strategies, and practice management to ensure smooth operations and stress-free time off.
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At a Glance
- Practices can successfully navigate the holiday rush by prioritizing clear communication with patients, including proactively sharing office closures, appointment availability, and emergency contact information.
- Effective staffing strategies are crucial, involving flexible scheduling, cross-training staff, and potentially hiring temporary workers to maintain service quality and patient care during peak periods.
- Leveraging technology such as telehealth services, remote monitoring systems, and automated administrative tools can help practices manage patient needs and back-end operations while allowing providers to take a well-deserved break during the holidays.
The end-of-year holiday season is in full swing. For many practice owners, it’s the perfect time for a well-deserved break to relax, connect with loved ones, and recharge.
But there’s much to be done before closing for the holidays: managing last-minute appointments, medication refills, and staff schedules; updating office hours; addressing back-end operation needs; and more. This may not feel particularly merry, especially for solo and small practice owners with few or no staff to delegate. But it doesn’t have to be without joy.
This guide covers helpful tips to get your practice ready for the holiday rush so you can unplug with confidence.
Clear communication
Communicating with patients must be a top priority during the holiday rush.
According to "Tebra's 2023 Independent Healthcare vs. Corporate and Health System-Based Providers Survey," when patients were asked what the top 3 qualities are that equal a strong relationship with their doctor, they ranked strong communication third.
“When patients were asked what the top 3 qualities are that equal a strong relationship with their doctor, they ranked strong communication third.”
Here are some useful tips to ensure your patients don’t feel lost in the shuffle:
- Reach out and maintain open lines of communication with patients as early as possible about holiday schedules and closures, appointment availability, and wait times while encouraging early bookings to avoid delays. This helps patients plan their appointments around your availability.
- Use a patient tracking system to get insights on patient flow and urgency levels. If there’s a sudden influx of patients, for instance, the system will prompt you to make adjustments to prevent service delays or disruptions.
- Prioritize regular patients and those whose review timelines coincide with the holidays or have conditions that require strict management. Implement a waitlist system to fill any gaps and accommodate patients who need urgent care. If you need to adjust appointments to accommodate patients with more urgent needs, be transparent about it while assuring them their healthcare remains your priority.
- Automate appointment reminders through email or text for scheduled visits and to inform patients of any changes in office hours or policies for the holiday season. Set up clear, temporary out-of-office phone and email messages that keep patients informed and reassured.
- Post closures prominently in your office, on your website, via email newsletters, and on your social media pages. Use a chatbot on your website that announces office closures, conveys important information to patients, and answers any questions or concerns, like how to reschedule an appointment or get prescription refills. Black out closure dates in your self-service appointment scheduling application and patient portal.
- Give patients clear instructions on how to contact your office in case of an emergency, especially if you close during certain holiday days. If you don’t offer after-hours or emergency care, provide patients with instructions for finding local urgent care or addressing common concerns.
- Provide patients with self-care resources about managing common holiday health issues, like colds, flu, or stress. Encourage preventive care to reduce the need for in-person visits for minor illnesses and multiple non-urgent visits later on.
Address staffing challenges
Proactively anticipate staffing needs to adapt to changing patient volumes, deliver uninterrupted care, maintain quality service, and keep your team engaged and motivated.
Here are some ways to address potential staffing needs during the holidays:
- Analyze historical data on patient demand and staff absences around the holidays from previous years. This will help you predict potential increases in patient volume before the end of the year, ensure timely adjustments, and maintain adequate coverage and efficiency.
- Implement flexible scheduling to align with patient volumes through temporary shifts or shift rotation, on-call opportunities, and extended work hours with overtime. With technological tools, like employee management and scheduling software, you can quickly identify and deploy qualified staff during peak periods and offer flexible shifts for staff members who may have holiday commitments, so they can take time off without leaving the practice short-handed.
- Cross-train staff so they’re equipped to perform diverse clinical and non-clinical tasks safely and efficiently. This ensures optimal staffing levels, uninterrupted patient care, and operational efficiency. For example, administrative staff can assist with basic patient care tasks, like rooming the patient or checking vitals on automated equipment, while a trained nurse can handle front-office tasks to alleviate the workload on a strained administrative team.
- Consider hiring temporary or per diem staff. You can do this particularly for non-clinical roles like reception or administrative support to fill in during peak periods.
Offer telehealth and remote monitoring systems
Disconnecting with your practice during the holidays is a great way to prevent physician burnout. However, you can still stay connected with your patients and practice to alleviate the stress of uncertainty using these tips:
- Offer telehealth as a quick and effective alternative to in-person visits, especially for urgent but non-life-threatening issues, follow-ups, or medication refills to manage demand, reduce pressure on the practice, and improve patient access to care. Ensure your patients know this option is available by sending out texts, emails, or notifications via your website and patient portal.
- Provide remote consultation services and train your staff how to manage these virtual appointments efficiently.
- Install and set up remote monitoring systems, like security cameras and patient management software, and mobile management apps to check in periodically, get updates and alerts, and stay informed with minimal intrusion and disruption to your break.
Before closing your office, set these systems up properly, ensure you’re familiar with their operations, and test remote access to confirm you can receive updates and alerts and intervene if necessary.
Create high-quality video visits, group appointments, dedicated provider URLs, virtual waiting rooms, and custom patient communications with Tebra’s HIPAA- and HITRUST-certified telehealth.
Address back-end operations
Paperwork, billing, administrative tasks, and other back-end operations are the backbone of your practice.
“In the week leading up to office closure, give your team time to handle administrative tasks for a smoother return when you reopen.”
In the week leading up to office closure, give your team time to handle administrative tasks for a smoother return when you reopen. These include:
- Submitting or resubmitting any outstanding claims.
- Documenting statuses and finalizing reports.
- Automating patient reminders, claim submissions, and payment posting.
- Setting up calendar reminders for tasks that may need immediate attention when you’re back.
- Reviewing and scheduling upcoming financial obligations, like payroll, rent, and utilities and ensuring funds are available to meet these commitments. This helps prevent any financial hiccups that could impact your practice operations.
With a little preparation and these helpful tips, you can provide a smoother, more manageable holiday rush for your patients and staff and unplug with confidence when it’s time to switch off and unwind.
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