MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 12, 2012
Family Medical Centres Aim for Same Day Service
LONDON, Ontario – Same day visits for patients requiring immediate care from their primary physicians is now a reality for the over 12,000 patients of the Byron and Victoria Family Medical Centres, as a result of an Advanced Access program initiated by clinic staff and physicians to improve patient access and office efficiencies.
Patients in the primary care sector can wait up to two weeks or more to see their family physician. The consequence of these delays can lead to a more complex acute medical condition/issue, decreased patient satisfaction, an increased use of urgent care clinics, as well as increased emergency room visits.
To address this, the Byron and Victoria Family Medical Centres, both part of the London Health Sciences Centre, and the Thames Valley Family Health Team, undertook a comprehensive review of clinic practices, including patient appointment scheduling, time spent with patients at each visit, equipment and supply management, administrative practices and test and procedure processes, with the goal of: improving patient satisfaction; reducing no-show rates; balancing supply and demand to improve work balance of the physicians, nurses, and reception staff; and reducing patient presentation to the emergency department and walk-in clinics.
Patients calling for an appointment are given two appointment times that day to choose from and if they are unable to accommodate those appointments in their personal schedules they are given a pre-booked appointment time next day or later in the week. In addition, there has been a reduction in the missed appointment rates and an improved supply and demand work balance has been experienced.
"Advanced Access has greatly reduced our patient wait times for an appointment,” says Dr. Sonny Cejic, Medical Director, Byron Family Medical Centre. “Both family medical centres have experienced positive feedback as a result of clinic improvements, especially in the area of patient satisfaction.”
The success of this initiative was published in Health Quality Ontario Quality Monitor 2012 in July 2012. To read more about how they achieved their success view the document http://www.ohqc.ca/en/yearlyreport.html
As part of the London Health Sciences Centre and the Thames Valley Family Health Team, the Byron and Victoria Family Medical Centers provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to primary health care. The team includes 14 physicians, as well as registered nurses, reception clerks, a chart management clerk, a supply clerk, a nurse practitioner, a public health nurse, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, a coordinator and medical residents.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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For media inquiries contact:
Marek Kubow
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 75155
