Quality Reports - Orthopedics

Time to Next Appointment

Why we measure it - We want our patients to be able to make appointments in a timely manner. Our goal is to have appointments in 14 days or less. Patients with urgent and emergent needs are seen very quickly.

What this means - There has been an improvement in the time to next appointment. This is likely related to the opening of our Greenway Clinic in September 2007 and efforts to make our clinics run more efficiently.

About the data - The time to next appointment actually is the time to the third next available appointment for new patients. Often first and second available appointments are due to cancellations or other things that can't be planned. So, looking at the third available appointment is a more accurate measure of how long a patient may need to wait to see a specialist. This is how clinics across the country look at this data.

Related dimensions of care:

What we're doing to provide the best care:

• Patients with urgent medical problems always are seen very quickly. Referring doctors can quickly access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day by calling our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.
• We offer a second clinic location in Greenfield (Greenway Clinic), to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our hospital location. Patients see the same orthopedic specialists at the Greenway Clinic as they would at the hospital.
• The Orthopedic Center uses the Lean system to improve the way the clinic runs and the overall patient and family experience in the clinic. Lean is an internationally recognized tool that helps the clinic run more efficiently and allows health care providers to focus on caring for patients. The Greenway Clinic location was designed using the Lean system.
• The orthopedic team of doctors, physician's assistants and nurse practitioners collaborates to take care of patients, which allows us to be as efficient as possible.
• We have expanded our pediatric and adolescent Sports Medicine Program through the addition of a Concussion Clinic and a program director.
• We perform many outpatient procedures at the Surgicenter of Greater Milwaukee located approximately 10 minutes from Children's Hospital. Here, patients may be scheduled sooner and enjoy the convenience of a smaller facility, while being cared for by the same pediatric orthopedic surgeons and pediatric anesthesiologists they would see at the hospital.

Patients/Families:

• If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling, at (877) 607-5280, or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule so another child can be seen.
• 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 these data or information, e-mail us or call (414) 266-6556.