"Whenever I start at a new clinic, I meet with the office staff and schedulers to better understand the office's expectations and to express my feedback and opinions on how patients should be scheduled. I like to spend ample time with my patients and give them the attention and quality care they deserve so that I may ask for certain time blocks for certain patients. My more complex, chronic cases may need more time than treating someone with the flu. I would also ask that time blocks be left open here and there for me to catch up or to work in a patient with an acute illness. It's a compromise sometimes, and effective communication is important when making decisions on scheduling best practices."

"I'm used to seeing a high volume of patients, but if there was a time, I felt like my quality of care was compromised by time constraints, I would address it with the office staff and schedulers. I know it's with the best intentions when scheduling a high volume of patients to ensure we treat as many people as possible. I would talk to the schedulers about my concerns and help set realistic expectations. For example, I would ask to have 30 minutes with all new patients and 15 minutes for those that are established and are pretty routine visits. Helping the staff understand my perspective, along with not wanting patients to wait long periods to be seen, should help everyone collaborate and streamline the process."