How closing a treatment room solves your waiting room traffic jam

00:00:00: Hello, I'm Dr.

00:00:00: Martin Baxman.

00:00:01: today we're going to tackle one of the most stressful situations any of us face in our practices.

00:00:05: that moment The waiting room is completely overflowing.

00:00:08: now your gut instinct i know Is to run faster and open up more chairs but?

00:00:11: I'm here To tell you That the real solution is actually slow down And close a room.

00:00:15: it's A counterintuitive strategy for sure But let's dive into why It works.

00:00:19: this probably sounds Completely backwards doesn't it?

00:00:21: but trust me This one idea is the key to turning that chaos Into a calm focused an efficient environment.

00:00:26: it just requires Us to fundamentally shift how We think about workflow especially when we're under pressure.

00:00:31: We've all been there, my team has a name for it!

00:00:33: We call the bus arriving.

00:00:35: It's that moment where despite our careful planning The schedule just breaks.

00:00:39: Your practice hits major traffic jam system grinds to halt and you can feel the pressure starting build.

00:00:44: And its always same classic scenario isn't?

00:00:47: A couple of patients show up late few others get their early and boom your waiting room is overflowing.

00:00:52: You see tension rising Patients anxious front desk team on edge.

00:00:56: That stress inevitably spills over.

00:00:59: It's really a cascading failure that all starts from simple scheduling hiccup.

00:01:03: In that moment of panic, what do we do?

00:01:05: Our instinct is always the same – open another room get more patience in chairs work faster but that reaction while it feels natural is fundamentally flawed and actually makes this problem worse not better.

00:01:17: Now to understand why We need to borrow concept from industrial management called Work-in Progress Limits or WIP limits The core idea is simple How many tasks can you have active at one time before they start interfering with each other and slowing the whole system down?

00:01:30: In our world, in The Clinic.

00:01:31: Each treatment share is a unit of work-in progress.

00:01:34: And here's where we see Disconnect Our instinct to increase the Work-In Progress seat more patients because We think will increase Output But the actual outcome It's chaos!

00:01:43: The doctor ends up jumping between rooms Assistants are running farther between stations and stress levels just skyrocket.

00:01:49: So everyone is moving faster but your actual throughput –the number of patients who finished it goes down.

00:01:55: So, if that's the wrong move what is right one?

00:01:57: Well to find this answer we actually need step outside of clinic for a minute and look at powerful real-world case study.

00:02:03: It perfectly illustrates the principle I call it The Escalator Principle.

00:02:07: So picture this rush hour in London underground.

00:02:10: For years the rule was walk on left stand on Right.

00:02:13: Everyone just assumed this faster.

00:02:15: but think about walking creates gaps.

00:02:17: you get accordion effect of people speeding up then slowing down.

00:02:20: so a study tested new rule everyone stands both sides.

00:02:24: This created a slower but much denser and steadier flow of people.

00:02:27: In the results were pretty shocking, they saw a twenty-seven percent increase in throughput!

00:02:33: Just by having everyone stand still this system moves significantly more people per minute.

00:02:37: The total through put went up dramatically simply removing that fast erratic variable.

00:02:46: dense flow is significantly faster overall than a fast, erratic one.

00:02:50: This is the paradigm shift we need.

00:02:52: running faster doesn't equal higher output and this is the exact principle We have to apply when our own waiting rooms get jammed.

00:02:57: Okay So let's bring this principal directly into the clinic with what I call that pit cruise solution.

00:03:02: Now this is going to require some decisive counterintuitive action from you as a leader Precisely When The Pressure Feels The Highest.

00:03:08: Here's the Action Plan.

00:03:09: Step one, you have to resist that urge to open more rooms.

00:03:12: Step two – You do the exact opposite!

00:03:14: Reduce your active room down just to one.

00:03:16: Step three – Bundle entire clinical workforce, doctor and assistants into single-room.

00:03:21: And step four – Assign them hyper specific roles like a high performance pit crew.

00:03:25: You see this is all about radical focus.

00:03:28: The Doctor does only medical tasks Clinical decisions Talking to parents.

00:03:31: That's it.

00:03:32: Assistant One purely hands on with current patient.

00:03:35: Assistant Two manages logistics charting in real time, getting the next patient logged-in, prepping the next tray.

00:03:41: This completely eliminates wasted movement and focuses the entire team's energy on a single point of

00:03:45: action.".

00:03:46: So what happens when you actually implement this?

00:03:48: You'll find that by doing less—by focusing your resources instead of spreading them thin—you achieve significantly more!

00:03:54: In results they don't just impact your efficiency —they impact your entire teams' well being.

00:03:58: The result are immediate…and profound.

00:04:01: Your chair turnover drops to almost zero...the waiting room clears out faster than it would with multiple rooms running chaos.

00:04:07: stress plummets because the team feels calm, focused and in control.

00:04:11: And maybe most critically... The patient's perception changes completely.

00:04:14: They no longer see a stressed-out doctor running between rooms.

00:04:16: they see a dedicated team of professionals focused entirely on their care.

00:04:20: So next time the bus arrives at your practice I want you to remember that escalator!

00:04:24: This solution is into run faster.

00:04:25: It's increase density & focus.

00:04:28: You know this isn't just tactic it's leadership decision.

00:04:30: The question you have ask yourself Is my practice brave enough stop?

00:04:34: bundle our energy and truly flow through the jam.