Hi there-I would say that in our time studies, we have found that rooming runs anywhere from about 6 minutes to 15 depending on the actual visit type and the number of care gaps we are closing during the rooming process. For example, if we have to collect a chief complaint, complete vitals, perform data collection for depression screening, smoking status, and then discuss/order CRC screening and a mammogram-that can take maybe 8 minutes total, depending on the amount of questions that need to be answered, whether an interpreter is needed, etc. initials and well-child visits tend to take the longest due to extended history taking by rooming staff and hearing and vision which are at times completed outside of the exam room, along with developmental screenings data collection for well child visits. We have about 52 items represented on our MA dashboard-so, they manage a lot...you may not follow that many measures, so our times may be apples to oranges...
We completed series of time studies by appt type to get a sense of the rooming capacity. This allowed us to figure out how many longer visits we could allow in a session without harming through put. We have used it to justify when extra exam room space may need to be assigned, and also general staggering of visits...for example, we only allow 1 longer visit per hour, and never in the last hour of the session...to ensure throughput is not clunky. Providers and RNs can override if there is a good reason to do so...but otherwise, the scheduling staff have to follow the booking rules. They are actually programmed into our scheduling software.
While this is not a black & white answer-I hope it is helpful when considering how you may get at the required time for your model of care...
Best wishes,
Mary
Mary Blankson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAAN
Chief Nursing Officer
Community Health Center, Inc.
675 Main Street,
Middletown, CT, 06457
Cell: (860)227-5432
mary@chc1.com
Executive Director
National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA)
1525 N Raleigh Street
Denver, CO 80204
mary.blankson@nimaa.edu
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Original Message:
Sent: 5/7/2026 9:17:00 AM
From: Carol OMara
Subject: RE: Rooming Time
Hi Angela,
I appreciate the response. We have such disparity at our clinic. Some folks room in 5 minutes others take 15.
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Carol O'Mara MSN RN
Nurse Manager
Family Care Center
Pawtucket RI.
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-06-2026 12:07
From: Angela Hall
Subject: Rooming Time
Hi Carol,
Our benchmark rooming time is 10 minutes. We came to this after we developed our Rooming Workflow and then completed rooming audits. 10 minutes was the average time it to the MAs to room based on the expected workflow.
Hope this helps!
Angela
Original Message:
Sent: 05-05-2026 11:10
From: Carol OMara
Subject: Rooming Time
Hello colleagues,
I am currently auditing patients for completion of vital signs and rooming times. What are your benchmark rooming times?
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Carol O'Mara MSN RN
Nurse Manager
Family Care Center
Pawtucket RI.
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