Image of 4 woman with telephones to their ears, sitting at desks

Photo: Cleveland Clinic Archives

The centerpiece of Cleveland Clinic’s central appointment desk was a rotating tabletop with a separate file tray for each department, which made it easy to check physician schedules and schedule visits for callers. The present-day Access Center — where caregivers wear headsets and consult electronic health records while helping callers (alas, the rotating tabletop is long gone) — is open 24/7, fielding 5.2 million calls and scheduling 3 million appointments annually.