Quality Reports - Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Center
Time to Next Appointment
Why we measure it - The time to next appointment actually is the time to the third next available appointment for new patients, which is a more accurate measure of how long a patient needs to wait before seeing a specialist of his or her choice for the first time.
One of our service standards is the ability to make appointments within a reasonable length of time. Urgent and emergent patients are seen the same day if needed.
What this means - We continuously look at our time to next appointment and develop strategies to ensure patients can schedule an appointment in a timeframe that supports the medical nature of the child's needs. We recently established a new process where referring providers can contact the Gastroenterology Center where a triage of the patient's symptoms will be performed and an appointment scheduled that same day or the next day as needed. If the patient's medical status is not deemed urgent, the referring provider can obtain guidance from a gastroenterology doctor as to any testing or treatment that could be started while the patient waits for an appointment. We know that every parent wants their child to feel better quickly and it is important to us that our patient families have timely access to specialty care. Whether it be a direct visit in our clinic or through guidance with the patient's referring provider, children have access to the care they need.
About the data - These data reflect a measure that is an industry standard and shows the number of days to schedule a new, non-urgent appointment.
Related dimensions of care:
  
What we're doing to provide the best care:
- Urgent and emergent patients are seen the same day if needed. Referring physicians can quickly access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day by calling our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.
- Under the direction of our pediatric gastroenterology specialists, a team of nurse practitioners has expertise in caring children with constipation and reflux issues. This helps these patients to be seen more quickly.
- We offer outreach clinics to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our Milwaukee hospital location. Our specialists travel to or are located in several cities throughout Wisconsin to provide care closer to where our patients live. Current locations include a second location in Milwaukee (16th Street Community Center), Neenah, Green Bay, Kenosha and New Berlin, Wis.
- Since pediatric Gastroenterology problems are so diverse, the Gastroenterology Center has assembled several world-renowned pediatric experts to create the following subspecialty programs:
Patients/Families -
- Bring your insurance card with you to your appointment so we can accurately file your claim for you.
- If your insurance plan requires a referral, make sure your primary care physician gives proper authorization for your visit to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
- Understand that Children's Hospital clinics are not typical doctor's offices and your insurance might apply hospital outpatient charges to your deductible or insurance co-payment.
- Be prepared to pay your co-payment at the time of your visit.
- If your child was seen in the hospital or clinic, you might receive more than one bill. Children's Hospital bills for clinic staff, supplies, medical records, etc. The Medical College of Wisconsin bills for the physicians' services.
- Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
If you have questions about this information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.
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