Clinicians seeing an increasing volume of patients might consider:

• Reducing paperwork with electronic clinical information systems. Available systems automate processing of health insurance claims, produce medical outcomes information needed by managed care organizations, generate patient education materials, and generate reminders for routine and follow-up care for your patients.
• Meeting regularly with office personnel to assess existing office systems and develop protocols for streamlining routine activities such as follow-up on missed appointments and referrals, telephone call documentation, and scheduling of diagnostic tests.
• Employing continuous quality improvement and patient safety concepts that involve and educate office staff in changing requirements and procedures.