I just spent six weeks working in various inpatient settings—where if I needed labs, they were drawn immediately and resulted within hours. Now that I’m back in the outpatient world, the difference is glaring.
In the hospital, I can act on results in real-time because the patient is still right in front of me. But in the outpatient setting, the workflow is completely different. I evaluate the patient, decide on labs, and then send them off to get drawn—sometimes that same day, sometimes later. Results trickle in a day or two later, and by then, the patient is long gone. Now, instead of having a face-to-face discussion about their labs in the moment, I’m playing phone tag, drafting MyChart messages, or squeezing in extra calls between patients.
A one-minute discussion in the clinic turns into an administrative burden that eats up time and disrupts workflow. And for complex cases? That quick check-in can balloon into a 10-minute call—yet another inefficiency in outpatient care that feels ripe for improvement…
