Wave scheduling involves which arrangement?

• A. Open hour scheduling
• B. Group by problems
• C. A method where several patients are seen at the same time
• D. Booking months in advance

Answer: (C)

Wave scheduling means arranging for several patients to start at the same time, creating a "wave" of arrivals that the clinician works through as time allows. This setup helps keep the day flexible—if one appointment runs short or long, the next patients in the wave can still be seen without waiting for a single start time. It’s different from open hour scheduling, where patients arrive at varying times and are seen as slots open, and from scheduling by problem or far-ahead booking, which describe other approaches. In practice, you might assign a single start time for a group of patients and then work through them in sequence as the clinician’s time becomes available.