Optimizing the care team is critical to maximizing the supply of the clinic and improving the daily flow of work. The specific mix of staff (number of physicians, nurses, assistants, technicians, clerks, etc.) will vary from clinic to clinic and determines the extent and type of work that can be driven away from the physician (the constraint). The care team composition of each clinic emerges from a discussion of how the clinic (and ultimately the facility) decides to balance its supply and demand. The clinic has to understand the types of services it provides, and then decide who should be involved in the work and how the work should be divided among the care team. This approach begins with demand and adjusts supply to meet the demand (within the limits of clinic resources). This is different from an approach that sets an arbitrary care team mix and then tries to fit the demand into the supply.
Related Tools
Practice Supply Worksheet (IHI Tool)
Unplanned Activity Card
Related Measures
Office Visit Cycle Time
