PRACTICE MANAGEMENT:
4 Steps To Turn Your
Practice Vision into Reality
The new year is a
unique opportunity to enhance your practice, because it is the one time
of year when employees are somewhat more open to trying new things. Take
a long hard look at your practice, identify what's going right and what's
going wrong, and then make the changes that will help you reach your goals.
Now is the time to seize opportunity!
To capitalize on this
pivotal time of year and move closer to the ultimate vision you have for
your practice, consider this 4-step "I. S.E.E." method to make
effective changes in your organization: Identify, Solve, Entrust, Evaluate...
"I"
-- Identify Problems & Opportunities
The first step toward
making positive changes in your practice is to understand the key problems
hindering your growth. Perhaps your no-show rate is too high or you're
not getting enough referrals. Then identify opportunities that you can
capitalize on: if a strength of your practice is your relationships with
referring physicians, leveraging these strengths to their ultimate advantage
will also be an important part of your growth plan.
As you start identifying
the key problems and opportunities affecting your growth, start with your
impressions. What changes would you like to see? Your practice may be
growing, but is it growing in the direction you want it to.
Then bring together
reliable numbers or other objective indicators to determine where your
business stands. One source of great information is AppointmentsPRO. Click
the Reports menu…browse though the selections…and conduct
your own brainstorming session as you view the various statistics affecting
your practice:
No-Shows
& Cancellations
Inactive Patients
Referring Physicians |
Referrals
by Zip Code
Resource Usage
Outcomes |
At this point, you
will likely have a list of several key problems and opportunities that
you would like to address in the coming year.
"S"
-- Solve the Problems,
Seize the Opportunities
Now it's time to come
up with a list of actions. If one of the problems you identified is that
you are not getting enough new patients from a neighboring zip code, then
you need to come up with a solution – such as contacting referring
physicians in that area. If one of the opportunities you listed is your
success at working with seniors, you need to capitalize on that opportunity
– perhaps with a mailing to the appropriate specialists in your
community.
"E"
-- Entrust Your Coworkers
Once you come up with
your action list, you will quickly realize that you can't do it all yourself.
Now you need to sit down with the staff, explain the thinking behind this
action list, and help your employees to step up and take ownership of
these tasks. Explain that by accepting a given responsibility, each member
of the team will help improve the work atmosphere, increase professionalism,
boost career opportunities and ensure job security.
Take the time necessary
to communicate your objectives properly. Then LISTEN. Let your people
share their concerns or suggestions and adjust your action list accordingly
to achive your ultimate objectives.
Whenever possible,
the best way to encourage employees to take ownership of their responsibilitiues
is to institute an incentive program. This can involve a bonus, but often
an office pizza party, or modest gift is just as effective.
"E"
-- Evaluate
Finally, schedule
time in advance to regularly review staff performance, ensuring that each
action task is being completed and the desired results are in sight. Take
time at this meeting to talk through how things are going. This not only
allows each staff member to describe any problems and suggest improvements,
it also gives you a chance to reinforce to everyone that the program is
working and goals are being met.
Let us know how you’re
doing and if this article was helpful by emailing PMN at editor@practicemanagementnews.com.
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