…..It has never been easy to run a successful and efficient medical practice. In 2018, patients spent an average of only 17 to 24 minutes per appointment while doctors struggled to balance practicing medicine and managing the practice. It is common for physicians to find themselves forever in a rush at the end of the day – juggling tasks at a fevered pitch in an effort to get home in time to be with loved ones. It often helps if a doctor is creative enough to find little “hacks” that improve the quality of service despite all the time and availability constraints. Read on to find out five useful strategies to make the most out of your practice.
- Ask Patients To Arrive Earlier – Routinely ask patients to come 20 minutes prior to your appointment so that they can fill out all the necessary forms and procedures before the actual appointment. This will give you more quality time during the appointment to work towards diagnosis and treatment, if any. The best way to do this is to tell somebody with an appointment at 11:00 a.m., for example, that their appointment is at 10:40 a.m., so they arrive with time to spare.
- Utilize Undercover QA – The easiest way to get an honest assessment of your clinic process is to hire a few different people to pretend to be patients. Nobody on your staff should know, so that they behave naturally when your undercover agent goes through the process of booking an appointment with you. Have them report any difficulties and weaknesses in your system so that you know exactly what needs improving
- Listen To Suggestions From Staff – It is often wise to listen to the opinions of your staff, since they are the ones directly involved in carrying out your clinic process. They will see and notice things that you might overlook – so take some time out to farm your staff for suggestions. Not only will it provide valuable insight, it will also empower your workers.
- Save Time By Using Videos About Consent Process – One of the main time-wasters is when staff have to keep answering questions about consent procedures. Record a video of yourself explaining the consent process thoroughly and upload it on your website or social media account. Make sure your legal team approves your message, then have your patients watch it at home prior to their appointments – saving your staff from having to waste time doing it on-site.
- Make Use Of Strategic Partnerships – Doctors should focus on what doctors do. Many medical practitioners take advantage of external strategic partnerships with firms that specialize in business administration and medical billing to handle non-medicine related jobs. This will allow you and your staff to concentrate on the most important work – caring for other human beings while you leave the back-office stuff to people better suited for that type of work.
…..TukkoMed can help manage your time by taking care of time consuming tasks and keeping your mind fresh for your patients. Contact us today!