No matter how organized your calendar may be, optometry scheduling gaps are inevitable. Staff vacations, last-minute callouts, or sudden surges in patient demand can throw even the best-run practice off balance. When these gaps aren’t handled well, patient care suffers, revenue takes a hit, and your staff feels the strain.
The good news? Most of these challenges can be prevented. Here are six of the top mistakes practices make when filling scheduling gaps—and how you can avoid them.
1. Waiting Until the Last Minute
Many practices don’t plan ahead for coverage until they’re already short-staffed. This creates stress and limits options. Instead, review your calendar at least quarterly to anticipate vacations, CE events, or seasonal spikes. Building coverage into your schedule early ensures you aren’t scrambling when the time comes.
How to avoid it: Use a scheduling tool or platform like OD PRN to line up fill-in ODs in advance.
2. Relying Too Heavily on Existing Staff
When an OD is out, some practices try to squeeze in patients by overloading their remaining doctors. While this may work short-term, it leads to burnout, rushed visits, and dissatisfied patients.
How to avoid it: Call in a fill-in optometrist to maintain normal patient flow without straining your core team.
3. Overlooking Patient Communication
If you don’t plan coverage properly, you may end up canceling or rescheduling appointments—something patients rarely forget. This not only hurts trust but can also send them looking elsewhere for care.
How to avoid it: Secure fill-in coverage early so your patients never feel the disruption. Keep communication proactive and positive if changes must happen.
4. Not Budgeting for Coverage
Some practices avoid using fill-in ODs because they view it as an extra cost. But the lost revenue from canceled appointments often far outweighs the expense of bringing in temporary help.
How to avoid it: Factor fill-in coverage into your budget as a preventative measure—an investment in patient satisfaction and practice stability.
5. Ignoring Fit and Experience
Not all fill-in optometrists are alike. Bringing in someone unfamiliar with your systems or patient volume can create friction if expectations aren’t aligned.
How to avoid it: When booking coverage, clearly outline the patient load, office systems, and responsibilities. Platforms like OD PRN make it easy to review profiles and find ODs who match your needs.
6. Treating Coverage as a One-Off Fix
Some practices only think about coverage when there’s a crisis. This reactive approach guarantees stress. A better method is to create a reliable pool of fill-in ODs you can call on when needed.
How to avoid it: Build relationships with fill-in doctors before you need them. OD PRN allows you to connect with ODs in your area so you always have backup ready.
Final Thoughts
Optometry scheduling gaps don’t have to derail your practice. By planning ahead, budgeting for coverage, and using the right resources, you can keep operations running smoothly, maintain patient trust, and prevent staff burnout.
Ready to make scheduling gaps a non-issue? Create your free OD PRN account today and connect with fill-in optometrists who can keep your practice covered.
