Best Advice Guide: Timely Access to Appointments in Family Practice: Same-Day/Advanced Access Scheduling

2012 June

Timely access is rated by patients as one of the most important elements of primary care.¹ CFPC’s new paper, Timely Access to Appointments in Family Practice: Same-Day/Advanced Access Scheduling, provides guidance to Canadian family physicians to support timely access in family practice settings. This guide focuses on providing information about same-day/advanced access scheduling, its benefits and limitations, and tips for family physicians on how to implement same-day scheduling in their practices. While this paper is presented for the consideration of those in all types of family practices, strategies for timely access to appointments are a core element of the CFPC’s Patient’s Medical Home.

¹ Wong ST, Watson DE, Young E, Regan S. What do people think is important about primary healthcare? Healthcare Policy 2008;3:89-104.