Practices try dropping waiting rooms

Some physicians say letting patients go directly to the exam room increases efficiency and generates patient loyalty, but the idea is taking off slowly.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. June 21, 2004.

Why did the patient cross the road? To get to the office with no waiting room.

That's the situation at Boys & Girls Pediatrics in Knoxville, Tenn. Parents are declining appointments at its location with a waiting room in favor of appointments across the street at the location without one -- even if they have to wait longer to get an appointment. The office has 18 exam rooms, each with an outside door that opens directly to a parking space.

"We have patients who come specifically for that very reason," said Jim Kimball, MD, a pediatrician and senior partner with Boys & Girls Pediatrics. "When parents come for the first time, we tell them it may seem a little strange at first, but you get used to it quickly. You can't come in a wrong door."

There's been a lot of attention devoted making the waiting-room experience more pleasant for patients, but a few practices like Boys & Girls Pediatrics have decided the best approach is to not have a waiting room at all, or, at the least, minimize its use by ushering patients back to exam rooms as soon as they check in.

The idea has clinical roots, especially in pediatrics, where sick and well children are often separated in the office. But practices have found business advantages from not using waiting rooms as well, like better office efficiency and happier patients.

Do patients actually spend less time waiting in these practices? Probably not, physicians and administrators say, though it may feel like it because patients sense they are a step closer to seeing the doctor.