In a medical practice, the problem is not just the amount of work. It is that everything seems urgent at the same time. And without a clear framework, you move from one task to the next without really making progress on what matters most for the practice. In this article, discover 3 practical methods you can implement in your practice.
The paradox of task prioritization
A phone call, a delay, an administrative request, a patient to call back. The day fills up very quickly. And the fuller it gets, the less time there is to step back and reassess. That is the whole paradox of prioritization: it becomes hardest to apply precisely when it is needed most. In this context, it is easy to confuse what feels urgent with what truly matters. Meanwhile, some essential topics get pushed aside: quality, organization, continuing education, and process improvement. The problem is that in a medical practice, day-to-day work naturally pushes you to react rather than prioritize.
The 3 methods for prioritizing tasks in your medical practice
There are many time management tools available. In a medical practice, the most useful ones are often the simplest. Here are three that you can easily put in place in your practice. The three methods below complement each other and are not used at the same moment. The first is for analyzing, the second helps you sort, and the third helps you organize.
1. Analyze and track how long tasks take
Before you can prioritize better, you sometimes need to start by observing. Identify which tasks are underestimated in your practice and take longer than you think. In many practices, some tasks take far more time than expected. This is often the case for documentation, reception, phone calls, or appointment management. As long as these areas remain unclear, it is difficult to improve your organization. And as long as time use remains approximate, prioritization is based mostly on gut feeling. Once friction points have been identified, decisions become much more concrete.
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2. The ALPEN method for building more realistic workdays
Once you have a good understanding of how long tasks take in your practice, you can organize your day more realistically. The ALPEN method is designed for exactly that: it helps you plan the time needed for scheduled tasks, while still leaving room for the unexpected. Because delays, phone calls, urgent matters, and last-minute adjustments are all part of daily life. On the other hand, when everything is planned down to the minute, the day becomes stressful as soon as the first delay happens.
How does the ALPEN method work?
The strength of the ALPEN method lies here: it reminds you that an effective schedule is not a full schedule. It is a schedule that remains manageable despite the unexpected. The 5 steps of the ALPEN method:
- A, Activities: At the end of the day, list all the activities planned for the next day: consultations, report writing, exam follow-up, phone calls, administrative management.
- L, Length: Assign a realistic amount of time to each task you listed.
- P, Prioritize: This is the most critical step for medical practices. You absolutely need to set aside enough time for urgent matters, patient delays, or unexpected phone calls.
- E, Establish decisions: rank tasks by priority, delegate, or say no when necessary. Here, you can use the Eisenhower matrix, which you will find in the next section.
- N, Note the results of the review: Go over the list at the end of the day to assess what was completed. Unfinished tasks are postponed or reassessed for the next day.
Thanks to this method, you will have a clearer view of your daily schedule and be able to distribute the workload more effectively.
3. The Eisenhower matrix to distinguish between urgent and important
The Eisenhower matrix is based on a simple idea: not everything that is urgent is necessarily important. That is what makes it useful in a medical practice. Some tasks need a quick response, but do not always require your direct involvement. Others are less visible but far more structurally important.
How the Eisenhower matrix works
The Eisenhower matrix helps you divide tasks into four categories based on their importance and urgency.
Handle without delay to ensure patient safety or continuity of care.
A patient reports sudden chest pain: the practice must respond immediately and direct the patient to the appropriate care.
Plan ahead to sustainably improve organization and the quality of medical follow-up.
Update the follow-up protocol for patients with chronic conditions to better structure future consultations.
Assign to the front desk or administrative team when no medical decision is required.
Reschedule a full day of appointments following the doctor’s unexpected absence.
Limit these tasks to avoid wasting time on low-value work.
Manually reformat a standard document even though a template already exists.
So, depending on how the task is classified, you immediately know how to act:
- Urgent and important: act without delay (e.g. medical emergency, blocking insurance file).
- Important but not urgent: block off a time slot during a quieter period (e.g. quality audit).
- Urgent, not very important: delegate (e.g. calls about certificates).
- Neither urgent nor important: postpone or remove.
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What this changes in practical terms for a medical practice
Better prioritization does not magically reduce the workload. However, it changes the way that workload is experienced. Days become easier to read and manage. Trade-offs require less energy. The team knows better what to focus on. And above all, important topics stop being pushed back all the time.
Sources
- Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. Simon & Schuster.
- Seiwert, L. J. (1989). Das 1 × 1 des Zeitmanagement. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-95822-9
- Le Temps. Hospital doctors are increasingly occupied by administrative work. Le Temps. https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/medecins-hopitaux-toujours-plus-occupes-ladministration
