“Seeing MORE patients will generate MORE revenue in your practice.
Which will increase your profits.
Which will make your practice more successful.
All you have to do is see MORE patients.”
But you may be thinking, "I can't see MORE patients because I am currently overwhelmed with the amount of charting I have to do. I already struggle to get charting done during the workday and have to bring charts home. This is already disrupting my work-life balance. There is no way I can bring in MORE patients to grow my practice."
As a healthcare clinician (and practice owner), you've experienced the never-ending cycle of patient care, charting, and administrative tasks. You desire to grow your practice by increasing patient census, but the demands of charting often pull you in multiple directions. This pressure of seeing more patients while keeping up with documentation can lead to long hours, poor work-life balance, and, ultimately, clinician burnout.
But what if there was a way to improve your charting process, manage your time more effectively, AND grow your practice without sacrificing your well-being?
As The Nurse Practitioner Charting Coach, I teach clinicians actionable strategies to streamline their charting process so they can spend MORE time with their families—and LESS time charting on nights and weekends. By implementing these easy charting tips (and utilising AI technology), clinicians can actually grow their practice without burning out!
Why Streamlined Charting Matters for Clinicians
Before we dive into the solutions, it's crucial to understand why optimising your charting process is so important. Poor documentation habits don't just affect you—they can lead to errors in patient care, delayed billing, and legal complications. Inefficient charting methods also waste time that could be spent seeing more patients or enhancing your work-life balance.
Think about how much time you spend charting. Would you say that for every hour you spend with a patient, you spend an additional hour on administrative tasks (like charting)? This imbalance creates stress, contributes to clinician burnout, and limits the number of patients you can see.
Improving your charting process can help you:
- Increase the number of patients you see
- Increase your practice’s overall revenue
- Decrease administrative burdens
All while reclaiming your time, creating a better work-life balance, and avoiding clinician burnout!
Time Management Tips for More Efficient Charting
Here are some of the TOP charting tips I share with clinicians so they can spend LESS time charting and MORE time in their personal lives.
1. Chart in Real Time
One of the most effective ways to reduce the time spent charting is to document as you go. This means right after a patient visit, you sign off the chart note (or at least add as much information as possible if you are waiting for labs, etc.).
While writing notes while you have a waiting room full of patients may seem disruptive, real-time charting allows you to capture details while they're fresh. When you leave charting until the end of the day, mental fatigue sets in, and you're more likely to forget crucial details or spend extra time trying to recall them.
Charting right after the patient visit can take an additional 2-5 minutes, but it will save you so much time in the long run.
2. Delegate Tasks to Medical Assistants or Nurses
Are your medical assistants (MAs) or nurses using their degrees to the highest level? Clinicians often take on duties that can be efficiently handled by other trained staff, such as entering routine patient information, updating medical histories, or managing follow-up communications.
Allowing MAs or nurses to assist with data entry or initial chart preparation frees up time to focus on more complex aspects of patient care. Effective delegation not only increases efficiency but also fosters a collaborative clinic environment where each team member works at the top of their scope, ultimately benefiting both patient care and your own work-life balance.
Leveraging Technology for Charting Efficiency
Technology has revolutionised healthcare in countless ways, and charting is no exception. From electronic health records (EHR) to AI-powered tools, there are several technologies available to clinicians that can significantly reduce the time spent on documentation.
3. Use Templates and Smart Phrases in Your EHR
Most EHR systems come with customisable templates and smart phrases that can drastically reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks. Creating pre-built templates for common conditions or procedures allows you to quickly populate charts with the necessary information and spend less time typing.
For example, if you frequently see patients with hypertension, create a template and smart phrases that include typical treatment options, common medications, and follow-up schedules. This reduces redundancy and ensures consistency across your documentation.
4. Freed: The AI Medical Scribe
One of the most innovative ways to optimise your charting and reclaim time is to use an AI-powered medical scribe like Freed. This is a game-changer for clinicians.
Unlike traditional dictation software, Freed goes beyond simply transcribing your words. It intelligently interprets the context of patient visits and generates comprehensive, accurate documentation based on your conversations with patients.
Here’s how Freed can transform your practice:
- Automated Documentation: Freed listens during patient visits and generates detailed, accurate SOAP notes, freeing you from the burden of manual charting. All you have to do is simply copy and paste the information into your EHR (no need for complicated or expensive EHR integration).
- Context-Aware: Freed recognises medical terminology, diagnoses, and treatment plans, ensuring that your notes are not only accurate but also clinically relevant.
- Affordable: At only $99/month, Freed: The AI Medical Scribe pays for itself AND gives you a better work-life balance!
- Time Saved: By allowing Freed to handle the bulk of documentation, you can focus more on patient care and less on charting.
With Freed’s AI-powered medical notes, you can see more patients without worrying about spending extra hours on charts or working late nights.
You also benefit from increased accuracy and a lower risk of documentation errors, which translates to better patient outcomes and a smoother billing process.
Maintaining a Work-Life Balance as You Grow Your Practice
While the goal of improving charting efficiency is to see more patients and increase revenue, it's critical not to lose sight of the importance of work-life balance. Let's look at other ways to reclaim time for yourself and avoid clinician burnout.
5. Set Boundaries on Your Charting Time
It’s easy to let charting spill over into personal time, especially if you're behind on documentation. However, creating firm boundaries around your charting time can prevent work from creeping into your evenings or weekends. For example, dedicate the last 30 minutes of your workday to completing charts, and make it a rule not to bring charting home.
6. Use Time-Blocking for Patient Visits and Admin Tasks
Time-blocking is a productivity technique where you schedule specific blocks of time for different activities throughout your day. For example, when you have patients scheduled, focus on seeing them and documenting right after the visit. Then set aside specific blocks of time during the day to tackle other tasks, such as reviewing lab results, finalising patient charts or responding to the never-ending patient messages.
Make sure you use time-blocking to ensure you are completing personal tasks such as self-care, exercise, time with family, etc.
By focusing on one type of task at a time, you can enter a flow state, increasing productivity and reducing the amount of time spent switching between different responsibilities.
Conclusion: Optimise Your Charting, Reclaim Your Time
Improving your charting process doesn't just help you grow your practice—it helps you regain control of your time and avoid the risk of clinician burnout. By adopting time-saving strategies like real-time charting, using templates, and leveraging technology such as Freed: The AI Medical Scribe, you can streamline your documentation process and focus on what truly matters: your patients and your well-being.
So, if you’re ready to grow your practice while maintaining a healthy work-life balance, start implementing these tips today!
The blog post was written by Erica D, the NP Charting Coach. Erica is a full-time nurse practitioner and creator of The Nurse Practitioner Charting School. Erica specialises in helping nurse practitioners improve documentation so they can STOP charting at home and create a better work-life balance.
Learn more about Erica D, the NP Charting Coach, by visiting her website: www.npchartingschool.com
Also, follow Erica on Instagram: @npchartingschool
This article is part of the HealthManagement.org Point-of-View Programme.
