It seems like scheduling an appointment between your behavior interventionists and clients should be a simple task, right? Look at the client’s availability, find an interventionist who’s free, and you’re done! Unfortunately, it’s rarely that easy.
This is due to the inherently complex nature of providing ABA therapy services to clients. There are criteria that have to be met, various travel and timing factors to be considered, and regulations that need to be followed. In this post, we identify the five most prominent challenges associated with scheduling at an autism clinic and reveal how autism scheduling software alleviates them.
Non-Standard Work Schedules
Schedulers at ABA therapy clinics face the unenviable task of scheduling behavior interventionists and their supervisors, both of whom often work non-traditional work schedules.
Many behavior interventionists, for instance, take college courses in addition to working, which means more adjustments to their schedules. In this case, the scheduler is constantly updating the hours the interventionist is available to work.
Constant schedule changes are particularly difficult to deal with for clinics still using Excel or Google Calendar when scheduling. One change means going into the client’s spreadsheet and then the employee’s separately.Autism clinic scheduling software makes this easier by implementing the changes across the calendars of everyone affected, with the best solutions sending alerts of changes.
Matching Credentials
In addition to availability, schedulers also have to consider and update the credentials particular cases require. Many insurance providers, as well as school districts and state agencies, require that certain minimum credentials be met for scheduling. This means tracking behavior interventionists’ licensing as well as the various degrees they have completed.
During the scheduling of an appointment, autism clinic scheduling software automatically warns the scheduler if the selected interventionist does not meet the licensing and degree criteria required for the specific case as specified by the funding source.
Considering Travel Time
In addition to credentials, schedulers also have to match therapists to clients based on distance, as travel time and mileage can add up as costs to the clinic. Aside from the costs, exposing your behavior interventionists to too much travel time is not good for morale or productivity. Autism clinic scheduling software can compute the distance between various clients to help ensure the closest interventionist is chosen for an appointment.
Sending Notifications and Alerts
Once an appointment is scheduled there is still the task of notifying both the client and the behavior interventionist. This is even more important for changes that occur to an already scheduled appointment. Most scheduling software has the ability to send customized alerts that help reduce client no-shows and keep interventionists on schedule. These alerts can be sent through text to increase the possibility of being seen.
Rescheduling
As mentioned above, there are times when appointments need to be adjusted. Sometimes, the originally scheduled behavior interventionist cannot make the appointment and a substitute has to take their place. First-rate autism clinic scheduling software solutions allow schedulers to search by specific appointment date and time for the next available behavior interventionist. This allows schedulers to find the interventionist that’s available, schedule him or her, and send the necessary notifications.
Autism clinic scheduling software is designed to reduce the complexities and difficulties associated with scheduling and simplify the processes that are carried out by the scheduler. The benefits extend to all the involved parties – the scheduler appreciates an easier workload, the interventionists are scheduled appropriately and the clients get the best interventionist for their needs. It’s a win, win, win situation.
Our scheduling solution – Autism Clinic Software – can be your scheduler’s best friend. Request a free 30-day trial to see for yourself.
