Treatment delays are caused by a number of things, including communication failures, handoff or transitional complications, inadequate staff orientation or training, inadequate staffing, availability of clinicians and failures in the patient assessment process. Here are several items to address when troubleshooting delays in care from The Joint Commission’s medical director, Ronald M. Wyatt, MD, MHA, on a post on the JC Physician Blog.
- Scheduling processes — Are they streamlined? Are they efficient?
- Ordering and reporting test results — Are there any redundant or unnecessary parts of the process?
- Improving access to care — Are there any unexpected barriers?
- Implementing standardized communications methods — Can patients, providers and other parties understand communication every time?
- Maintaining adequate staffing for any situation — Is there a staffing system in place to efficiently deal with an influx of patients?
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