How a family doctor can handle a heavy walk-in OPD
By the Curogrid team · · 4 minute read
A family doctor handles a heavy walk-in OPD by taking every task that does not need a doctor out of the consulting room. Give a token on arrival, take vitals before the patient comes in, send injections and dressings to the sister, write common prescriptions from saved sets, and bill at the desk. The doctor's minutes then go to the patient.
None of this shortens the time a patient needs with you. It removes the minutes around it: finding the old record, taking the blood pressure, writing the same five medicines out again, and working out the bill.
Where the time goes in a full OPD
Watch one morning and note what the doctor does that someone else could do. The list is usually some of these:
- Asking the patient's name, age and mobile number.
- Looking for what was written at the last visit.
- Taking weight, temperature and blood pressure.
- Giving an injection or changing a dressing.
- Writing out a prescription that is the same as the last ten for that complaint.
- Telling the patient what to pay.
Give a token the moment the patient arrives
Register and give a token at the desk before anything else. A token settles the order, so nobody has to stand near the door to hold their place, and the desk can answer “how many before me?” truthfully. Take the name and mobile number once, at the first visit, and search for the patient after that.
Take vitals before the patient reaches the doctor
Have the sister or the compounder take weight, temperature, pulse and blood pressure while the patient waits, and enter them in the file. The doctor then starts with the figures on the screen, beside those of the last visit. For a patient who comes every month for blood pressure or sugar, the trend is the first thing the doctor needs, and it is ready.
Send short tasks to the sister
Keep injections, dressings, nebulisation and suture removal out of the doctor's line. A patient who has come only for a dressing or the next injection of a course does not need to wait behind twenty consultations. Decide which tasks the sister does on the doctor's standing instruction and which need the doctor to see the patient first, and write the rule down for the desk.
Write common prescriptions once
Save the groups of medicines you write together, and reuse them. A family doctor sees many of the same complaints, and the prescription for each is one you have written many times. Recall the set, then change it for the patient in front of you. Every prescription is still read and decided by the doctor: a saved set saves typing, and nothing else.
Decide who is called out of turn
Agree the rule before the rush and let the doctor make the call. A small baby, a frail elderly patient, a pregnant woman and anyone who looks seriously unwell should be marked at the desk, so that the mark shows in the doctor's line. The receptionist should not have to choose between patients in front of a full room.
Bill at the desk, and close the day
- The doctor adds what was done to the visit: the consultation and any procedure.
- The desk makes the bill from the visit and takes payment by UPI, cash or card.
- A part payment is recorded as such, with the balance left against the patient's name.
- At closing, count the cash drawer against the day's cash total, and check the UPI and card totals against the bank.
A routine for the whole morning
| Step | Who | What is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Receptionist | Patient found or registered, token given. |
| Before the doctor | Sister or compounder | Weight, temperature, pulse, blood pressure. |
| Consultation | Doctor | Complaint, diagnosis, prescription, tests ordered. |
| Short tasks | Sister | Injection, dressing or nebulisation added to the visit. |
| Leaving | Receptionist | Bill, how it was paid, anything still to pay. |
How Curogrid does it
In Curogrid, the desk gives a token in a few seconds, and the Today screen shows who is next, who has been called, who is with the doctor and how long each patient has waited. A token can be marked “Baby under 2”, “Senior citizen”, “Pregnant” or “Emergency”. The sister can enter vitals before the doctor starts, and the patient's file opens on a Health card that draws the last five blood pressure readings. Choosing General practice brings 37 everyday medicines offered as you type and 16 starter services, and you can save a set of medicines you write together and reuse it. Bills record UPI, cash and card apart, with part payments and a day close. The doctor can call the next patient from the phone app.
Curogrid offers the medicine name only. The dose and the decision are always the doctor's. It does not handle admitted patients or beds. Curogrid costs ₹399 a month on Plus or ₹999 on Pro, for the whole clinic, with a 5-day free trial of Pro. Plus includes 6 staff logins, so the doctor, the compounder and the receptionist each sign in as themselves.