Effective schedule management is crucial for optimizing patient care outcomes, and improving both patient and therapist experience. By managing your schedule effectively, you can deliver consistent, high-quality care while minimizing delays and interruptions and reaching your caseload goals.
This resource guide is designed to provide you with Luna best practices for effectively managing your schedule.
Sections
1. Preparing for your 1st Visit
2. Pro-Tips for Successful Visits
3. Scheduling Strategies for a Better Patient Experience
1. Preparing for your 1st Visit
Congratulations on joining the Luna platform! You’re one step closer to starting to treat patients with Luna. We’re so excited for the impact you’re going to make!
In anticipation of your 1st patient, here are a few important things to keep in mind:
- Turn Luna app notifications on in your phone settings to ensure you are alerted when a new patient appointment has been scheduled
- Keep your calendar up to date to reflect your Ongoing Availability
- Utilize the “Time Off” feature well in advance to mark off specific days or times you need for your personal schedule
- Avoid canceling or rescheduling Initial Evaluations, as these appointments have already been confirmed by Concierge and this can lead to a poor patient experience
- Stay proactive and check your Luna calendar daily to ensure you are prepared for upcoming appointments and to avoid scheduling discrepancies
- Ensure your “Auto-Accept New Patients” status is set to ON in the Therapist App in order to allow scheduling of new patients.
- Confirm your Start Date and treatment location are accurate, as Concierge will now use these to begin scheduling new patients
2. Pro Tips for Successful Visits
As a valued therapist at Luna, we want to provide you with clear expectations and best practices regarding schedule maintenance and communication. By following these guidelines, you contribute to exceptional patient experiences and create a solid foundation for a successful and rewarding journey on our platform.
Effective Schedule Planning
- Weekly Planning: Dedicate time weekly to audit your calendar four weeks in advance, ensuring your Ongoing Availability is accurate to your needs.
- Considerations: Identify patients needing further appointments, those nearing discharge, your availability for new evaluations, and personal commitments.
- Consistent Scheduling: Schedule current patients out for a minimum of 3-4 weeks to give patients consistency and to forecast your upcoming weeks.
- Availability: Maintain 2 or more open days weekly for better patient matching.
- Waitlist Patients: Ensure you are fully committed to treating patients as scheduled and for the entirety of their care plan, and avoid rescheduling or canceling initial evaluations.
Confident Scheduling During Visits
- Confirmation: Validate patient schedules at the end of each visit via Care Plan.
- Flexibility: Use "Extend the Care Plan" to book additional visits with patient consent, or schedule directly from the Calendar view.
- Rescheduling: Prioritize “Reschedule Appointment” over “Cancel Appointment” when a change needs to be made to the patient’s scheduled visit.
Effective Concierge Communication
- Use Chat: Utilize the chat feature to contact Luna Concierge for initial evaluation queries.
- Missing Appointments: Inform Concierge promptly about any last-minute missing appointments for accurate billing.
Patient Communication
- Direct Communication: Whenever possible, communicate directly with patients, especially for cancellations, reschedules, and care plan extensions.
- Encourage App Usage: Encourage patients to download the Luna Patient App (available on iOS and Android) to communicate with you via chat, to view their assigned exercises, and to view their visit schedule.
- Timely Updates: If you’re running late to a visit, directly contact the patient through the Luna Therapist app for fastest communication.
We are here to support you every step of the way. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to the Clinical Team.
Thank you for being a part of Luna, and we wish you a fulfilling and impactful journey in providing top-notch patient care!
3. Scheduling Strategies for a Better Patient Experience
As therapists, our commitment extends beyond treatment sessions; it encompasses every aspect of the patient's journey, including scheduling. Poor schedule management can have a negative impact on patient experiences and outcomes. To enable therapists in delivering exceptional care, we've compiled a concise guide on the most common scheduling challenges we see at Luna and some strategies to avoid them.
Maintaining Accurate Availability in Luna app
Failing to ensure accurate therapist availability can result in miscommunications, incorrectly timed appointments, and unnecessary cancellations, leading to patient and therapist frustrations.
Recommendation:
- Regularly check and update your ongoing weekly availability.
- Block time off well in advance for personal commitments.
- Enable push notifications in the Luna app and your phone settings for timely updates.
- Utilize “Auto-Accept New Patients” (On/Off) in your Profile to signal your preference.
Scheduling Future Appointments in Advance
Failing to schedule appointments well in advance hinders patient consistency, impedes effective planning and makes it challenging for Luna to forecast your upcoming availability to match you with new patients.
Recommendation:
- Schedule current patients for at least 3-4 weeks in advance to ensure consistency of care.
- Pro Tip: If a patient's availability does not permit scheduling in advance, you can use the "Time Off" feature to reserve specific time slots for your existing patients.
Early Patient Consent for Rescheduling or Cancellation - Lack of patient consent for appointment rescheduling or cancellations can disrupt patients’ plans and rapport.
Recommendation:
- Communicate appointment changes with patients as early as possible
- Obtain patient consent prior to rescheduling appointment times
Aligning with Patient on Communication Methods Shortened visit durations, misaligned expectations, and unclear communication methods can lead to patient dissatisfaction.
Recommendation:
- Agree on preferred communication methods during the patient's initial evaluation, in case of unforeseen delays.
- Assure the patient of efforts to arrive punctually, with a typical arrival window within 15 minutes of the scheduled session time.
- Communicate possibility of delays due to external factors like traffic or weather.
By addressing these scheduling challenges proactively, you can uphold the highest standards of patient relationship and satisfaction. These strategies help to empower both you and your patients alike. By embracing a patient-centered approach to scheduling, you can cultivate trust, enhance satisfaction, and ultimately, deliver exceptional care experiences
