…..More and more Americans each year are gaining awareness on the need for improvement in the quality of healthcare they are receiving, as rising costs and an increased visibility of medical errors heighten the risk of patients receiving expensive, but ineffective, treatment. Prices are already too high as it is – so not being able to provide quality when you can may make patients resent the medical care they are receiving. Because of this, many practices have spent valuable resources seeking improvements through cost-cutting, efficiency improvements, and other similar initiatives – but there is still a long way to go.
Meanwhile, the following tips may be helpful in your search for improved healthcare quality:.
- Set Realistic Goals – You must be able to set measurable, realistic, and time-sensitive goals in order to track milestones and progress. Safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, and equality are all important aspects of a high-quality medical practice and should be what you aim for when setting goals. Once you have identified and prioritized your goals, relay them to your team so that they may begin working towards the goals you have set.
- Analyze Data & Results – Data and statistics are of incredible importance in medicine and are involved in the majority of decisions in practice. Identify existing trends, issues, and/or problems that require solutions., then pay close attention to electronic health records (EHR) and other sources of information to reveal vital areas of your practice that needs improving.
- Understand Medical Care As A Process – More than just the science of curing diseases, a great medical practitioner understands that healthcare is a process – and like any process, it should be continuously improved. It should be centered around patient experience, ensuring the best and most comfortable encounter possible for them. Some may believe this is obvious but there still are doctors and staff members who do not understand this simple point.
- Understand Medical Care As Not Just A Process – While the previous step was dedicated to establishing healthcare as a process, it must also be remembered that it is not JUST a process. The medical industry is centered around human beings, which means empathy should always be a part of any medical procedure, diagnosis, or treatment. It is, in fact, more important than any medical process. Compassionate doctors and staff members are of great value for patients – and are the ones who are able to retain their clientele.
- Select Worthy Leaders – Academic success is not enough to make one person a leader. It is of more importance for a person to have long time experience practicing medicine, because only those who have actually succeeded in their practice can understand all the nuances and pitfalls of ethics, patient relationships, and subjectivity. A veteran that is well-versed in actual practice will know exactly what it takes to succeed – and should be able to demand excellence from team members and staff.
…..As you know, there are so many different aspects of Medicine for physician’s to worry about – and even after going through all of the stress of your daily routine, you still have to ensure that all of your administrative tasks are being done properly and in a timely manner. Are you sure you can handle all of that yourself? Talk to TukkoMed today and find out how we can take a load off your shoulders and keep you focused on what matters – your patients.