Kristi, a smart, hardworking, and committed medical assistant in cluster D

Kristi said to me last week, “Hey, Marty, can we see the list of improvement ideas that the frontline improvement design team is using?”  I told Kristi I’d post it on the blog so the whole clinic could see it.  The team meets tomorrow and will likely pick a new problem to tackle. 

• External referrals
• Patient educational materials for obstetrics and diabetes
• Durable medical equipment (DME) referrals
• Call management coverage during lunch time
• Hard copies of controlled substance medications making it to pharmacy on the same day patient is seen in clinic
• Notifying patient when provider is running late
• Labeling of lab specimens
• Safe use of phenol
• Use of masks by patients with suspected infections
• Add on of procedures to treatment center
• Routing of normal labs by LPN to ordering providers
• Difficulty reaching provider for lab orders when patient presents to lab and there are no orders on file
• Pediatric faxes and paperwork delayed when they arrive downstairs
• Triaging of pediatric patients if they walk in during lunchtime in pediatrics cluster
• Patients not being ready to be seen on time
• Papers making it to provider’s desk without being screened by MA

If you want something added to the list, post a comment!  This is your clinic and we need your input to make it better!