A Study of the Appointment System in the Outpatient Department of Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia
Abstract
The problem was to determine the best procedures to improve the functioning of the appointment system for the outpatient department of Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia. Methods of research employed in studying the problem included observation of the clinic administrative personnel in their functioning roles, interviews with professional and administrative personnel, and a review of the applicable literature. In studying the outpatient department appointment system, the total system was studied, observed, and evaluated in terms of the components; thus the central appointments system was studied as a subsystem as were the appointment systems of all of the independent clinics. It was found that the need for a study had resulted from patient complaints of not being able to obtain an open line to the central appointments desk in order to make an appointment. Interviews and observation indicated that there was a lack of information about the central appointments system on the part of the patient population and the professional and administrative staffs. It was concluded that the appointment system at Martin Army Hospital was a working system, but that some improvements could be made in its functioning components in the individual appointment-making clinics as well as in the central appointments desk. Recommendations included methods of lowering the number of calls and reducing the time of the calls to the appointment-making facilities, staffing the appointment desks, and coordinating among the clinics utilizing the central appointments desk.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD1209584
Entities
People
- Raymundo Elizondo