Weekly Clinic Improves Access and Enhances Overall Patient and Family Experience
A new weekly clinic at Cincinnati Children’s makes it easier for children with hand fractures and other acute injuries to see a hand specialist in a timely manner.
By reserving a consistent block of appointments for this patient population, hand surgeons from the Division of Orthopaedics have improved access to care and enhanced the overall patient and family experience.
Accommodating Busy Families
Many parents whose children develop sudden injuries face a similar dilemma: How do they get their child treated as quickly as possible while minimizing time away from work and school?
Hand surgeon Kevin J. Little, MD, director of both the Cincinnati Children’s Hand and Upper Extremity Center and the Mary S. Stern Hand Surgery Fellowship, says this common predicament compelled his team to create the new hand injury clinic at the end of 2023.
“Medical appointments can be disruptive to a family’s schedule, especially when it’s for an unexpected need,” he explains. “Our staff noticed that while trying to schedule new patient appointments for acute injuries, which should ideally take place within a week, we couldn’t accommodate the high number of requests for afternoon appointments at our Burnet Campus in Cincinnati.”
Little says parents often request afternoon slots that take place after school, or at a time that’s near the end of the school or work day. But the clinicians’ schedules had a limited number of those appointments available.
“We realized we could better meet families’ needs by creating an afternoon clinic devoted solely to acute hand injuries,” he says.
Offering Streamlined, One-Stop Care
The new clinic offers appointments during a three-hour block of time every Wednesday afternoon. Its providers—including hand surgeons, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and orthopaedic technicians—see children of all ages.
“We primarily see patients with fractures and soft tissue injuries such as tendon lacerations,” says Little. “Most have already had an initial evaluation in the emergency room or by their primary care provider, and are coming to us for conservative or surgical treatment.”
Little says the team’s goal is to provide the best possible outcome with the least amount of downtime.
“For patients who need nonsurgical treatment like splinting, casting or closed reduction, we’ll take care of them the same day,” he says. “And when choosing among treatment options, we consider the necessity of return visits. For example, we’ve found that splinting certain injuries is just as effective as casting, but requires fewer total visits.”
Making a Small But Meaningful Change
By listening to parent feedback—and responding with a practical solution—the hand surgery team has achieved two goals. They’re ensuring children with acute hand injuries receive prompt, appropriate care. And they’re meeting families’ needs by providing a more-convenient option for those with busy schedules.
“Addressing patient needs and preferences doesn’t always require a major investment or significant effort, and this clinic is proof of that,” Little says. “We made changes where we had the ability and flexibility to do so. By simply modifying our schedules, we’ve eliminated a potential barrier to getting care.”
(Published October 2024)
