1. Constant contact
4-3-2-1 sounds like a countdown because, well, it is. It's also a system
you can use to prepare your patients for cataract surgery. The count-
down begins 4 weeks from surgery with a call from a staff member to
go over the patient's surgical plan — including the type of lens the
doctor has chosen — and to answer any questions. Three weeks
before surgery, staff reminds the patient to tend to his history and
physical examination. With 2 weeks to go, the center's financial coor-
dinator telephones to review the patient's application and verify his
insurance. The call the week before surgery covers arrival time, use of
pre-operative eye drops, and a reminder to not eat or drink after mid-
night before the procedure.
Before the Eye Surgery Center of Georgia in Atlanta implemented 4-
3-2-1 5 years ago, it wasn't unusual that 4 of the 20 cataract surgeries
scheduled each day were cancelled because a patient wasn't NPO,
didn't use his drops or had unresolved financial issues. Not anymore,
says CEO Scott Bullock.
2. Let patients know when to arrive
Mr. Bullock never imagined that his years as a golf pro would one day
help him run an ophthalmic surgical center. But as it turns out, setting
up tee times isn't all that different from scheduling cataract surgeries.
"You have tee times every 10 minutes, you remember what it's like,"
says Mr. Bullock. "That front nine takes two-and-a-half hours, so you
know that it's going to affect tee times on that No. 1 tee. You've got to
keep everything moving in the right direction."
Whether it's a tee-time or surgery schedule, Mr. Bullock knows that
people get antsy if they have to wait. To keep traffic flowing, the Eye
Surgery Center staff created the "unit system" to determine when a
patient should arrive. Here's how it works. Each unit is 20 minutes
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