Medical practices aren’t immune from recurring problems and challenges. Even when the concerns that arise are familiar and seem to have been solved in the past, they can rear their ugly heads again periodically if you’re not vigilant.
Issues of time management, cash flow, patient engagement and technology, among others, must be kept front of mind to ensure your practice continues to run well. Here are some tips on these particular areas.
Time management – Many physicians find it difficult to stay on schedule. This can mean that, as they get further behind on patient appointments, documentation begins piling up. Usually, the cause is poor time awareness or lack of delegation.
To get a handle on time management, assess what’s happening to the practice schedule over time. Make a list of what regularly isn’t getting done and possible causes. In addition, look at whether you or other physicians are performing tasks that staff members can or should do instead. If so, why? Do you or the other doctors not trust them to perform these tasks? Are staff not trained to perform them? Identify the tasks in this category and figure out how to delegate them.
Cash flow – Cash flow is revenue (collections) less costs: fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs include rent, malpractice insurance premiums and staffing — and are difficult to renegotiate. Variable costs include repairs and maintenance, consumables, training/continuing education, and compensation levels. It’s important to regularly analyze variable costs and, if necessary, adjust them as is feasible.
Also, pay attention to accounts receivable and determine whether you’re receiving proper payment for services. Your practice may be leaving money on the table when it comes to billing. How many claims are being rejected? Look for patterns, such as coding mistakes or a failure to resubmit rejected claims. Even if you use a billing service and engage a CPA, you need to understand your profit/loss statement and your practice’s finances.
Patient engagement – Patients increasingly want — and expect — a customer-focused experience in health care. They want a rapid-response “retail-like” interaction similar to online shopping, with flexibility, convenience and personalized attention.
To help achieve this, communicate with your patients via the media they typically use. That’s likely to be a combination of letters, phone calls, emails, texts and messages posted via patient portals. In addition, leverage technology to assist your practice in sending out reminders and automated patient surveys.
Social media can be a way to brand your practice, interact with your patients and increase patient engagement. Keep in mind, though, that you need to use social media wisely, because it can quickly become a minefield.
Medical and office technology – Physicians who have been in practice for a while undoubtedly remember when the federal government incentivized buying electronic health record (EHR) systems. Currently, technological advances are part and parcel of running a medical practice. You’ll need to continue to acquire new technology — such as digital X-ray systems and practice management software.
So, it’s key for practices not to resist technological change. If the technology creates more efficiency and accuracy, it’s probably a useful investment. You just need to reasonably ascertain that the return on investment (ROI) will be greater than the purchase and implementation costs of the technology.
With this in mind, evaluate the available technology to determine what will best serve your needs. Shop comparatively — make sure that any asset you’re considering will accomplish what you want it to and fit your budget. And keep in mind that, to get a good ROI on technology, you and your staff need to know how to fully use it. This will require that you spend time, and perhaps money, on proper training.
Look to the future – When you can foresee the different issues that will likely challenge your practice, and develop strategies to mitigate them, you’ll stand a much better chance of running an efficient, profitable operation. After all, practicing medicine is just one piece of the puzzle when providing health care to patients. Consult with your financial and other advisors to ensure you have methods in place to resolve ongoing issues.
Content from Thomson Reuters