The Economics of Scheduling

Healthcare starts long before the patient walks into the doctor's office - it starts with scheduling care. 

Doctors in the U.S. see nearly 3 billion outpatient appointments each year. Scheduling these appointments consumes 363 million work hours at an annual cost of over $7.25 billion. Yet few people understand the economics behind this costly process.

The traditional telephone-based scheduling process is incredibly inefficient.  Consider the problem from the perspective of a typical 4-physician outpatient clinic: In order to schedule each doctor's 20 daily appointments (this is the very low end of the range - doctors in New York City, for example, often see 50-60 patients daily), the 10 employees supporting the clinic must spend a collective total of 200 hours on the telephone each month. That amounts to over $1,500 per physician per month just to schedule appointments.

That means physicians currently spend $2.50 scheduling each appointment. Considering the average reimbursement to a family practitioner for a 15 minute appointment is only $40, the appointment-scheduling process imposes a considerable 6% transaction cost.

What's more, half of all appointments are rescheduled. And on top of that, 20% of patients don't show up for their appointments, resulting in substantial opportunity cost to the physician.

Still think scheduling is no big deal? Didn't think so. Cadit drastically simplifies the scheduling process for patients and physicians, and cuts costs in the process. 

Welcome to Cadit!

At the simplest level, health care begins with scheduling.

By automating the process of scheduling appointments, Cadit takes this basic, yet essential, transaction and creates an ideal platform for increasing patients’ involvement in their care. Our system allows patients to find doctors and prepare for appointments, ensuring that both patients and physicians can get the most out of their time in the room together.

But health care extends beyond just medical appointments. That’s why Cadit is developing tools to help patients effectively navigate health care, and become more educated consumers of medicine.

Here in the U.S., our health care system is incredibly complex. Understanding the ins and outs of the system (and it's pitfalls) can give patients a much-needed leg up and help them to achieve the best care possible.

At Cadit, we’re here to help. We're going to use this blog not only to update you on our company, but also to help educate patients about health care. To do that, we need to hear from you. Wondering why it seems like we pay for so much more than we get? Not sure how to even begin choosing the right plan for you and your family? Our question submission link is ready and active, so ask away! We’ll use your most pressing questions as the basis for our posts.

This is a busy time in health care, and we're excited about the opportunities that await as we tackle the challenges of improving the system for all involved. We hope you'll join us on this journey, and in the meantime, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on Facebook, and let’s explore health care together.

- The Cadit Team