3 Ways to reduce work-related stress using a Clinic Management System

Stress in the workplace is a common experience shared in all industries. It’s normal to experience stress. What’s not normal is to not do anything about the stressors in the workplace which are affecting the employees and staff. Since, if an individual is experiencing stress for a prolonged period of time, this can inevitably lead to employee burnout. Employee burnout is a major concern for the management, as this state of an individual can negatively affect the workforce and the workflow of the clinic. Although it’s a gradual process before an individual would experience burnout, it’s best to be proactive.

It’s time for clinic owners and managers to step up and help their medical staff. There are many solutions to reduce stress in the clinic like HR initiatives to bring the whole team together through different activities, it can be implementing flexible working hours, or even creating a simple space for the staff to relax and unwind. Those initiatives are great, however, it’s also best if the solution can be utilized in the long run.

The following are some of the many features of a Clinic Management System that can help in reducing work-induced stress for medical staff:

(1) Booking, appointment scheduling, and queueing

Handling an influx of patients in a queue can be hectic specifically for the personnel assigned at the front desk. Manual booking and scheduling of appointments made thru phone calls or text messages are okay during slow days, and when your clinic is fairly new to the market. However, as your clinic grows its list of regular and potential clients, this type of procedure won’t match your clinic’s daily operations. Penciling in appointments on a record notebook or book, even manually encoding it on spreadsheets, can be counterproductive. Let’s not forget that some clients would drop by and get procedures done as walk-in patients (this is a common scenario experienced by Skin Clinics, and Dental Clinics).

The front desk or reception can only cater to a limited number of patients (remember that they’re also humans), it can get overwhelming for them during peak hours. They’re required to be the face of the clinic, and manage and satisfy the patients when they first enter the clinic until they pay and close out their customer journey.

The booking, appointment scheduling, and queueing features of a Clinic Management System can help them confidently and calmly manage your clinic’s busy queue. Just take note that not all available Clinic Management Systems on the market have all of those three specific features packaged into one system. Some CMS are missing specific features like a queue management feature that efficiently separates clients that are walk-ins, those who have appointments, and even those who can line up at the special queue for the elderly or PWDs.

(2) Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Finding patient records in the file cabinet or the file room can be an arduous task, specifically during crucial moments. Imagine how frazzled your clinic staff can get when there’s an emergency and they have to wade through a pile of patient records before they get the right record. It’s also a hassle when there are multiple patient records with a similar name, this can be an added stressor to your staff and patient. Your staff will have to make sure that they’ve pulled the right patient record so as not to create an erroneous data entry on someone else’s record. Your patient can get irritated when they can’t be served in under 5 minutes.

Your clinic can save time and storage space when you utilize EMRs. Most clinics that shifted to digital means are utilizing EMRs to keep their patient records in a more efficient manner. Electronic records can shorten the time spent on finding and verifying medical reports from minutes to just under a minute (or a click).

(3) Automated Report Generation

Report creation is an important task to the clinic staff. They have to make sure to generate an error-free report after the clinic’s operating hours.

Creating error-free reports can induce a surge of stress to one’s mental health, as daily reports on all aspects of the clinic operations are needed to be read and assessed by the clinic manager and/or owner. Erroneous data records can create a domino effect on an individual’s workload. They have to correct the report within the day or else it will affect the weekly then the monthly report for the clinic.

One of the best features that a Clinic Management System can offer is automated report generation. Not all CMS offer an all-around report generation, some CMS can only generate certain reports. However, the best ones in the market are comprehensive to the point that they can generate needed reports for billing, inventory, HR, and other aspects to maintain and improve clinic operations.

There are providers for a Clinic Management System both locally and internationally. Don’t know where to start? Try out the most complete Clinic Management System on the market. See it firsthand through a FREE online product demo, just sign up here.