Predictors of Wait Time in the Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Clinic

CATEGORY: Health Sciences Research INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Wait times represent a critical component of the patient experience, and prolonged waits are correlated with decreased patient satisfaction. We hypothesized that time spent waiting for radiology is the largest contributor to total patient wait time in our orthopedic foot and ankle clinic. METHODS: A prospective, observational study was conducted in the outpatient orthopaedic foot and ankle clinic at a tertiary medical center. A total of 210 new and follow-up adult patients were enrolled. Patients were tracked from arrival until checkout with multiple time points being recorded by a trained observer. The time between patient arrival and first contact with the orthopaedic surgeon was broken down into five distinct categories. Total time between patient arrival and first contact with the orthopaedic surgeon was tested for association with patient and appointment characteristics using Student’s t-test. RESULTS: The average total time spent waiting for first contact with the orthopaedic surgeon was 57.1±30.4 minutes. The largest contributor was time spent waiting for an exam room (33.1±25.5 minutes), followed by time spent waiting for radiologic imaging (21.7±19.9 minutes), time spent waiting for resident/PA (12.2±10.9 minutes), and time spent waiting for attending surgeon after seeing resident/PA (11.7±9.3 minutes). Factors contributing to a longer overall wait included obtaining x-rays at the visit (+15.4±4.2 minutes, 95% confidence interval [CI]=+7.0 to +23.8, p<0.001) and failure to complete patient paperwork beforehand (+36.9±5.3 minutes, CI=+26.4 to +47.4, p<0.001; Table 1). In contrast, overall wait time was not associated with age≥50 years, female sex, late arrival, or outside medical records needing review. CONCLUSION: Time spent waiting for assignment to an exam room was the largest contributor to the time between patient arrival and first contact with the attending surgeon. In order, the other contributors were time spent waiting for radiology, time spent waiting for the resident/PA, and time spent waiting for the attending surgeon after seeing the resident/PA. Obtaining x-rays increased patient wait time and completing patient paperwork beforehand decreased patient wait time. Orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons should work to avoid unnecessary x-rays and encourage completion of patient paperwork before arrival in order to optimize clinic flow and decrease patient wait times.