Medical Mutual Insurance Company of Maine
How do your office systems measure up?

Risk Management » Assessment Tools

Appointments and Scheduling

This assessment tool is designed to increase awareness of potential liability exposures which may exist within your practice. Discussions with your staff can result in greater awareness of loss exposures and the implementation of systems to streamline the scheduling process.

  1. Non-emergency patients are seen by appointment only.
    Yes No

  2. I book only the appointments I can properly handle.
    Yes No

  3. Flexible appointment times are scheduled based on patients’ needs.
    Yes No

  4. Scheduling practices allow for emergency or same-day appointments.
    Yes No

  5. Double-booking practices are avoided or controlled.
    Yes No

  6. Typically, patients are given an appointment in less than two weeks.
    Yes No

  7. When an appointment change occurs in the scheduling book, a method is used to preserve the original patient information and ensure that it is not removed from the book. This also holds true for a computerized scheduler.
    Yes No

  8. Periodically, I monitor my schedule to ensure that patients wait less than 20 minutes.
    Yes No

  9. Additional time is allotted for a patient’s initial visit.
    Yes No

  10. A procedure is in place to inform waiting patients if their appointments will be delayed.
    Yes No

  11. Follow-up of a missed patient appointment (no-show) occurs, and relevant patient information is documented in the medical record.
    Yes No

  12. When a patient cancels an appointment without rescheduling it, follow-up occurs. Cancelled appointment information is documented in the patient’s record.
    Yes No

  13. An office policy requires that I am notified of each missed and canceled patient appointment, so I may direct appropriate follow-up.
    Yes No

  14. No charge is assessed for missed appointments unless it is appropriate to the practice.
    Yes No

  15. Patients are contacted to confirm their pending appointment.
    Yes No