Model Design by Kelly Emrick, DHSc, PhD, MBA

The following Patient Intake Improvement Models are interactive maturity and performance simulators that let leaders stress-test the entire “front door” of care across five linked stages: scheduling, check-in, registration, provider encounter, and payment, to see how operational design choices affect experience, accuracy, and downstream financial performance. Users start by setting a baseline that reflects their current state (typical wait minutes, registration defect rate, denial rate, no-show rate, staff rework time, and patient experience score), then adjust scenario sliders that represent the strongest levers in the intake system: portal adoption, staffing level, kiosk mix, readability and form clarity, and the amount of assisted support available for patients who need help. As those controls change, the model updates a Front Door Reliability Score and assigns a maturity stage, while simultaneously recalculating practical KPIs such as projected wait time, late starts, error rates, and denial exposure, revealing the trade-offs that often lie beneath “digital transformation” projects. The right way to use it is to run three passes: first, map your current state and save it as “Baseline”; second, model a realistic near-term improvement plan (for example, modest portal uptake plus a readability uplift plus staffed assistance); and third, model an aggressive strategy to test risk (for example, high kiosk adoption with reduced staffing) and watch for equity friction and error rebound. The most valuable output is not a single number; it is the learning loop the tool enables: it helps teams identify which stage drives the most defects, quantify how upstream intake quality influences delays and denials, and translate those insights into concrete interventions using the built-in toolkit and reliability spec, so weekly huddles and project plans stay anchored to measurable outcomes rather than opinion.