Controlling morning chaos

Between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. chaos ruled in the front office at Catawba Animal Clinic in Rock Hill, S.C., says Hospital Administrator Jean Weaver. "All our dental appointments, surgery appointments, daycares, and routine morning appointments were coming in around the same time," she says. "Our receptionists were overwhelmed trying to check in the appointments in a timely manner, especially with clients rushing to get to work."

Complicating matters, the surgery check-in protocol had become more complex, requiring the receptionist to discuss preanesthetic blood work, pain medication, and microchipping with clients; look for deciduous teeth; check to see whether the pet was in heat; and so on. And when they completed this checklist, receptionists still needed to call an assistant or technician to move the pet to the appropriate area.

The clinic team decided an upgrade was in order. The solution: The night before, receptionists pull all records for the next day and prepare them with any necessary client information. The next morning, records are placed in the appropriate areas: in the pharmacy for appointments, in surgery for surgeries, and at the reception desk for daycare.

"When an appointment arrives, the receptionists let the doctors' assistants know their appointments have arrived," Weaver says. In each case, the assistant or technician from that area greets the client in the reception area and escorts him or her to an exam room.

This approach empties the reception area and ensures that a staff member who's familiar with the pet gives each client individual attention. "This routine frees our receptionists to do what they do best—interact with clients, answer phones, and turn phone shoppers into valued clients," Weaver says.