Assessing unwanted variations in rheumatology clinic previsit rooming

Edmond Ramly et al. conducted a cross-sectional time-study and work-system analysis to measure rooming workflows in three rheumatology clinics to assess the current capacity for population management in the clinics. They found that total room duration varied by clinic, with a median of 6.75-8.25 minutes, and vital sign measurement and medication reconciliation took up more than half of the rooming time. Additionally, two of 15 tasks varied significantly in duration across clinics, and 9 tasks varied in frequency. Due to these variations, clinic leaders modified their policies and procedures regarding 6 high-variation tasks, which streamlined the assessment of weight, height, pain scores, tobacco use, disease activity, and refill needs.

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