Last October, while conducting our no-show analysis, we decided to introduce a daily huddle with our team. Our primary goal for conducting the huddle was to identify potential bottlenecks in the schedule and most importantly improve show rate.
We didn’t have a strict structure or predefined plan but believed that a huddle could only benefit us. We started with the basics: identifying the doctor on-site, tracking the number of total scheduled patients and new patients, and discussing any particular patients or scheduling patterns that could create delays.
As we began conducting these huddles, we noticed that some days were filled with discussion points while others were brief. Over the course of a few weeks, certain topics kept resurfacing, leading us to refine the structure of our discussions.
The Emergence of a Huddle Prototype
By November, a structured Huddle Document began to take shape. Along with basic statistics, it included chronic no-show patients and additional elements such as the next available pediatric appointment date, union patients requiring specific paperwork, waitlisted patients, as well as a review of the following day’s schedule.
December was a more laid-back period due to the holiday season, but the huddle remained in place. Then in January, we decided to fully integrate the huddle into our daily operations, making it a pivotal part of our workflow.
Since we are a small team, standardized meeting times were not part of our usual routine. However, to maximize efficiency, we implemented a fixed huddle time to ensure no one was occupied with insurance calls or other daily tasks. Our huddle document also became more refined, including sections for frequently omitted procedures, provider follow-up availability, and more.
The Growing Impact of the Huddle
With an increasing number of critical topics discussed during the huddle, the time spent preparing for it grew significantly. Despite this, we felt the benefits far outweighed the preparation time. In January, we reorganized the responsibilities of one of our team members, training them specifically to prepare for the huddle, allowing us to delegate and take some of the burden away from a director-level employee.
As a direct result of our huddle initiative, we achieved a key milestone in January: increasing our daily patient count per provider from 15 to 16.
Delegation and Continued Success
By mid-February, we further optimized the process by delegating the huddle leadership to our office manager. Even with this transition, we successfully maintained our new daily patient average.
Now, in mid-March, we remain on track with this increased patient volume. While our initial focus was on improving our show rate, we discovered several additional benefits of implementing the huddle:
Document Compliance: Ensuring that required forms and paperwork are completed in a timely manner and therefore billing is not delayed.
Teamwork and Alignment: Keeping both on-site and off-site team members informed and on the same page.
Schedule Awareness: Enhancing our ability to anticipate and navigate daily scheduling challenges.
The huddle has become more than just a tool for reducing no-shows—it has transformed into a cornerstone of daily team coordination, patient care optimization, and operational efficiency.
Svetlana Golikova, MBA