Clinical Workflow Optimization

The five most common workflow bottlenecks we find.

1. Over-clicked templates. Default vendor templates commonly require 2-5 more clicks per encounter than necessary. Multiplied across thousands of encounters per year per provider, that's hours of time loss per provider annually — with no clinical value in exchange.
2. Missing or misconfigured order sets. Frequent order patterns (annual physical workups, chronic condition follow-ups, post-surgical orders) should be one-click order sets. When they're not — or when they exist but aren't configured for your actual protocols — providers re-enter the same orders hundreds of times per year.
3. Broken or noisy alerts. Poorly configured decision support fires alerts that aren't relevant, which trains providers to click through alerts reflexively — defeating the purpose and also consuming time. Alert tuning restores signal-to-noise ratio.
4. Duplicate documentation. MAs room the patient and document vitals, chief complaint, medication reconciliation. Provider comes in and re-asks the same questions, re-documenting in a different part of the chart. Workflow optimization eliminates the duplicate capture by designing MA documentation to flow through to the provider view.
5. Post-visit charting backlog. When daily charting can't be completed during the clinical day, it bleeds into evenings and weekends. The root cause is usually upstream — too many clicks, poor auto-population, missing templates for common scenarios. Fix the upstream causes, and the backlog clears itself.

Observe. Measure. Rebuild. Remeasure.

Observe (1-2 weeks). Shadow providers and staff during real patient encounters. Record actual click counts, actual time-on-screen, actual pain points. Observational data is the specification for optimization — not provider self-reports (which are consistently inaccurate in both directions).

Measure baseline (1 week). Document baseline metrics: clicks per encounter type, chart-closing time, after-hours charting volume, MIPS measure capture rates, front desk throughput, MA rooming time. Specific numbers, not impressions.

Rebuild (4-8 weeks). Template redesign, order set consolidation, alert tuning, auto-population expansion, MA-to-provider documentation flow, post-visit workflow redesign. Each change is specific, documented, and measurable.

Remeasure (30, 60, 90 days). Same metrics captured at baseline, captured again at milestones. Outcomes compared against original targets. Where outcomes meet or exceed targets, we're done. Where outcomes fall short, we iterate until they do. No open-ended engagements.