How long does it take you to perform a procedure, such as a filling or an extraction or etc.?
Have you ever measured the length of a procedure enough times to know how long the procedure takes?
Is once enough to understand how long the procedure takes?
What is the range of time the procedure takes?
Lots of questions whose answers could help with scheduling.
I recommend that you:
- Measure a procedure 25 times to get a statistically valid measure. 25 is the “rule-of-thumb” for statistical validity.
- Average those times.
- Take the longest and shortest to get the range of time for the procedure.
- Have your assistant measure the time for restorative care, and the hygienist for their work.
- Have the assistant or hygienist note the total time in chair for the patient.
- Have the assistant or hygienist note the amount of time required to clean and set-up the opertory for the next patient.
- Have the assistant or hygienist note the total time the doctor was in the opertory.
- Have the assistant or hygienist note anything unusual about the procedure (good or bad).
Once you have collected and analyzed the data of 25 repetitions of the procedure you are in much better shape to make informed decisions about your schedule. Further you have established a baseline to which you can compare potential process improvements. You may also notice waste in your processes and procedures. If you eliminate that waste, you can re-measure the procedure to make sure you made an improvement.