Embracing the future: Refining ambulatory care for enhanced efficiency and revenue

By Christen Hunt, DNP, FNP-C, CPNP-AC
Vizient Associate Vice President, Clinical Team Insights

Healthcare's tectonic plates have shifted, moving decisively toward outpatient or ambulatory care. Yet a significant number of health systems remain entrenched in an outdated business model, one designed in a time when inpatient care was predominant. This discordance is proving costly, preventing health systems from fully taking advantage of the burgeoning ambulatory market and, in several instances, leading to financial losses.

The demand for ambulatory care has soared, propelled by factors like medical technology advancements, the transition toward value-based care and the necessity for affordable treatment alternatives. However, many organizations still rely on outdated and inefficient methods that are not suitable for the modern healthcare landscape. For example, many clinics continue to operate as an individual clinic instead of part of a system by requiring redundant paperwork at each clinic within the system instead of fully utilizing the electronic health record. This results in serious consequences such as lost income, wasted resources and dissatisfied patients. It is crucial for organizations to urgently remodel their ambulatory care business strategy to address these issues and adapt to the current healthcare environment.

The journey toward a more efficient and profitable ambulatory care facility revolves around two pivotal strategies: process standardization and patient-centric care.

Process standardization

In ambulatory care organizations, standardization is a potent instrument for boosting efficiency. Inconsistencies in staff roles can lead to issues such as overcompensation when staff work below their full capacity and increased risk when personnel exceed their scope of practice.

Additionally, there is an opportunity to standardize clinic operations and processes. For example, having support staff available in the clinic when the provider is absent is often essential for independent practices. However, being part of a system offers the advantage of resource flexibility. By streamlining clinic processes and ensuring consistency, like what we observe in acute care settings where staff can be flexed between units, the organization can adjust staffing as needed. This approach eliminates unproductive hours and reduces overtime by establishing a unified blueprint for operations across the system.

By homogenizing roles, responsibilities and operations across the system, health systems can cultivate a flexible environment that maximizes resource utilization. This curtails variations that frequently result in confusion, inefficiencies and resource squandering.

Patient-centric scheduling

The second cornerstone of an efficient ambulatory care facility is a patient-centric approach, particularly evident in scheduling. Traditional scheduling methods are typically provider-centric, resulting in incompatible schedules, extended wait times and unhappy patients.

Transitioning to a patient-centric scheduling model allows health systems to sync their operations with patient needs and preferences. This model considers factors like a patient's preferred appointment time, visit modality, condition severity and necessary follow-up care. This approach enhances patient satisfaction and optimizes resource utilization, as schedules are designed with a comprehensive understanding of patient flow and demand patterns.

The ambulatory care market offers enormous potential for health systems — but harnessing this potential requires embracing change, including a fundamental transformation in business models. As the adage goes, "Change is the only constant." In the rapidly evolving world of healthcare, this mantra can guide leaders toward reshaping their ambulatory care facilities into efficient, profitable units that deliver superior, patient-friendly care.