Medical practice revenue is tighter than ever. It’s time for you to take critical steps to keep costs under control and improve profits.
The first step to fixing the bottom line is to look for the waste. Wasted energy results in a loss of potential revenue and lots of frustration. There is waste throughout the typical practice, but most of it is silent and doesn’t get the attention it should. Here’s some common threads we see in your world:
- A lack of clearly defined job responsibilities that result in duplication of effort.
- Accepting poor performance and inferior outcomes
- Mistakes that one person makes and another one corrects because it seems faster or easier.
The good news is all these things are fixable. Make the commitment. Look at the action that needs attention. Is it the scheduling, patient visit or billing and collections, or something else? Then flow chart the processes involved and identify the cause for errors and inefficiency, discuss the possible solutions and pick the one that makes the most sense. Then
You may need to hire a consultant to get the ball rolling and develop a process improvement plan, but it will be worth the effort. Start thinking lean and reduce the waste!
Once you see improvement it’s time to celebrate. Your bottom-line will improve, staff will enjoy their work more and patients will be happier. Sounds like a win-win-win. So just do it!
Capko & Company, experts in practice management and markeeting – We are here to help make your practice shine.
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About the Author: Judy Capko
