Yearly Archives: 2019

It may seem hard to believe—I know it does to me—but we’re approaching the last quarter of 2019. The summer season goes by fast, probably for obvious reasons, and when autumn arrives, it feels like it sneaked up on us.Of course, for many practices, there’s another reason it feels like a stealth attack by the calendar: the workload can go from one of the slowest times of the year to one of the busiest, seemingly overnight. This time of year can be crucial for your profitability. With many patients wanting to book services before the end of the calendar year, especially those who’ve met high deductibles, it’s an opportunity to meet patient needs and make more money. Now’s the time to plan how you’ll make the most of this busy time of year, without unnecessary stress. Here are some of our favorite tips for maximizing the upside of this season—while also staying well and enjoying what this high-productivity time of year. 1) Set a plan and get everyone on the same page Many of our practice clients seem to have an allergy to staff meetings! We understand the fear of wasted time. But at this crucial time of year, a group huddle can help make sure everyone knows what to expect and, above all, understands why the season is so important to practice health and stability. (This is likely obvious to physicians and practice managers, but it may not be to your staff.) Patients who know they’ve met their deductibles will be anxious to book care that they’ve put off. That means staff may need to be a little more patient when patients are less so. Patients will also likely be confused about their insurance, so making sure everyone knows the right way to answer their questions is critical (even if the right answer simply means knowing who to transfer their call to). If anyone on your staff is rusty on your technology capabilities or the billing/scheduling rules they’ll need to explain make sure you encourage them to speak up without feeling ashamed. Review your scripts and manuals, and assess

Since administrators play such a critical role in practices, recruiting a new one for your practice may provoke a fair bit of anxiety. If you’ve been left with little time, you may feel rushed. If your previous practice manager was a flop, you might even be feeling dread. Addressing the challenge head-on and systematically can help get you the result you desire. One familiar mistake we see is failing to define your needs thoroughly. This is not just a matter of “minimum of five years experience” – it’s a matter of understanding your practice’s mission, goals, and culture. It’s a matter of identifying what success looks like with the right administrator in place. Without mapping your practice’s needs and culture to a candidate’s qualifications and characteristics, you’re left merely hoping for a good outcome. Considering the lost time, productivity and general disruption that comes along with a poor hire, you need the odds in your favor. If you have infighting among your staff, which isn’t uncommon unfortunately, you may need a no-nonsense administrator with more of a hands-on approach as opposed to a spreadsheet genius who prefers to stay locked in her office all day. On the other hand, perhaps you have a mature and well-functioning staff and feel that you need a candidate with particularly strong financial management skills—for example, if growing your practice by adding a new office or even acquiring a competitor is on your agenda. Whatever you decide, you may want to create a spreadsheet table so that you can rate each candidates on the dimensions you think are most important - a simple 1-5 rating is a great start. You may want to use weighting as a tool to further refine your analysis. The old management saying of “be slow to hire and quick to fire” is useful to keep in mind along with some caveats. While it’s certainly important to find the best possible candidate, the cost of stop-gap management can be high. We see many practices where some staff is “temporarily” filling in as the practice administrator – often poorly attending to many

Many administrators and physicians struggle to find the optimal staffing level.  When patient volume is especially high or an employee has called in sick, it can seem like you’re horribly short-handed.  On the other hand, seeing staff idle can make physicians feel as though they are paying for nothing at all – hardly a comfortable thought when profits are being challenged in multiple fronts.   Evaluating your ongoing staffing needs in a methodical, evidence-based manner can be a challenge, but it’s well worth the time and trouble. While it’s natural to look to other medical practices to see how you compare, don’t give undue weight to such comparisons.  While staffing levels typically fall between 3-6 FTE staff per clinician, it’s underappreciated that the strongest, most profitable practices often have more staff per provider.  To the extent staff assists the physicians in working efficiently, they increase the revenue potential of the practice.  Every task that a physician does that a staff member could do is a lost opportunity.  When we visit our medical practice clients, we almost always notice productivity gains that could be made with existing practice staff.  If your practice is like most, you can benefit from looking carefully to see if more tasks can be done by staff generally.  And here’s a great little secret: if you have staff who sometimes feel a little bored or underappreciated, simply asking them how efficiency can be improved can yield immediate results. Even after decades of experience, we’re still surprised by how many excellent ideas can come from even the most junior staff.  But more than that, staff feels more valued, engaged, and committed to the practice when you recognize their knowledge by asking their opinions. Also keep in mind that there may be tasks staff would be motivated to do during brief down periods that are beneficial to your practice. For example, many practices fail to update their websites and social media on a regular basis. This type of work can be a perfect fit for slow times at the front desk if you have a person who has the enthusiasm

We've started a new website feature you might like. We're listing some of our favorite famous inspirational management quotes (along with a few of our own). Classic quotes are fun and useful because the gurus who said them figured out how to succinctly express management ideas that can sometimes be obscure in practice. One of our favorites deals with a brutal truth of managing employees: Peter Drucker's advice to "accept that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer." You've got the title and you sign the paychecks. In theory, that gives you a lot of leverage. You can insist on having everything your way, at least for a little while. Eventually, though, a dissatisfied employee can put on his or her walking shoes and go work somewhere else. This freedom to hit the road goes double for people in high demand. (Like, say, physicians in practically any specialty, or talented administrators or billers.) If you're finding your practice is experiencing a lot of turnover in key roles, it can be very costly for your business. And even before they leave, unhappy employees can harm your practice with low productivity, negativity, and, in extreme cases, even sabotage. So how can thinking of employees as "volunteers" help you improve morale and retain key people longer? Here are a few things to consider: The idea that employees are "volunteers" means more than just "they can leave." Modern employees want to be inspired by their work. They want workplaces that align with their values -- just as they would if donating their time. This doesn't mean you should retool your practice culture to match the preferences of every new hire. What's more important is to know your culture and be clear about it when hiring. That will help you avoid a costly revolving door of employees whose expectations weren't met. And what if you suspect parts of your culture or your work standards could use an upgrade? The upside of better morale and lower turnover is a good reason to consider making needed changes. Money is important. Make sure you're not notably

In recent years, many of our clients and friends have been involved in practice acquisitions or mergers. In many of these cases, a practice in a nearby area has come up for sale, perhaps due to retirement or death of a physician owner. These can be exciting opportunities, but stressful, too. There is usually pressure to respond quickly. And, of course, the decision usually involves a significant investment. The need to move fast often makes it hard to even think through all the questions you want to ask -- much less get answers to all of them. When the pressure's on, fear of missing the opportunity may take over. But if you move too fast, you may "win" the opportunity without realizing what it really costs. "Buying the practice down the street" may be a fantastic way to quickly expand your practice, but it's not without significant pitfalls. Information and a solid plan are your best tools for protecting your interests. In this short webinar (about 30 minutes), Laurie Morgan outlines some of the key questions to consider when deciding whether to buy a nearby practice. To view the recording, click the link. You'll be asked to register on the video page. Once you've watched, we'd love to hear from you if you have questions. And, of course, we're at-the-ready to help you with consulting services before you make a purchase decision (or before you put your practice on the market). Use the contact form to email us or give us a call.   "Should You Buy the Practice Down the Street?" [on-demand recording - registration required]  

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