An open loop is any piece of work that has started but is not finished.
A patient is waiting on a callback. A lab needs review. A form needs signature. A referral needs confirmation. A pharmacy needs clarification. A teammate is waiting on an answer.
Open loops are normal.
Invisible open loops are dangerous.
Why open loops hurt DPC clinics
DPC clinics run on trust.
Patients are not just buying visits. They are buying responsiveness, access, and continuity.
So when a small follow-up disappears, it feels bigger than it looks.
Not because the clinic is careless. Because the system made the work too easy to lose.
The smallest useful system
You do not need a complicated workflow map. You need an Open Loop List.
Each item should have:
- patient or topic
- what is open
- owner
- next action
- due/check date
- status
That's enough. If you make the system too heavy, nobody will use it.
The weekly cleanup
Once a week, review the list and ask:
- What is still waiting?
- What needs a nudge?
- What can be closed?
- What has no owner?
- What keeps recurring?
The recurring loops are your real workflow problems.
The pirate rule
If a task matters, it gets a name and an owner.
No ghosts. No "we'll remember." No mystery work floating around the clinic. (For more on the systems behind this, see our clinical workflow task management guide.)
Steal the template
We made a free Open Loop List for DPC clinics.
Turn this into a carousel
- Every clinic has a hidden list.
- The dangerous part is when it lives in everyone's head.
- Patient waiting on call.
- Lab waiting on review.
- Referral waiting on outside office.
- Form waiting on signature.
- These are open loops.
- Rule: every loop gets an owner and next action.
- Review weekly. Close aggressively.
- Steal the free Open Loop List.