By its very nature, medical practice work can be frenzied, stressful, and overwhelming. You and your staff are likely under constant interruption, making it impossible to give each task the attention it deserves, and simply completing the huge number of necessary tasks each day can be a struggle. Effective time management is essential to the smooth operation of a medical practice. These practices can help you reduce your stress, improve your productivity, and reclaim your personal life.

“Outsourcing” is viewed in a very negative light by many Americans today. And if your medical practice is considering outsourcing one or more job positions or medical practice services, it’s true that outsourcing could keep you from hiring a local individual who desperately needs a job or could even result in layoffs of some of your current staff. But in the current economy, ignoring the cost benefits of outsourcing may not be an option. Here are some things to consider if you’re thinking about outsourcing for your medical practice.

As a Practice Manager, you probably know that keeping in touch with your patients is an important part of increasing the revenue of your medical practice. The more top-of-mind awareness you create, including your practice’s blog, Facebook page, printed marketing materials, in-office television, special offers on receipts and invoices, and even phone call reminders for appointments, the more your practice will reap the benefits. Patient newsletters, or e-news, is simply one more way of creating top-of-mind awareness – and it’s surprisingly easy to implement.

Patient e-news is particularly important to your medical practice because it offers an opportunity to educate patients and potential patients about medical conditions and treatments related to your specialty, as well as let them know about the full range of services offered by your practice. Patients may be suffering from particular symptoms but be frightened about painful treatments or negative side effects of medications their family and friends have shared, whether true or untrue. Patient E-News is a chance for you to dispel their misconceptions and offer attractive, or at least more palatable, alternatives.

Seeing bad press about your medical practice, whether about the physician(s) or simply about your specialty, can be frightening. But if you know how to respond to it, you can keep it from causing harm to your practice or even turn it into a positive experience. There are two types of bad press you may encounter about your medical practice: Direct and indirect. Direct bad press refers to actual negative reviews about the physician(s) and/or your practice, and indirect encompasses any unfavorable media that can affect your practice, such as “exposé” television shows or even credible medical studies.

With direct bad press, a quick response is key, but the need to respond quickly can create panic in the minds of many practice managers. Be careful not to respond with anger or anything that can be read – or misread – as sarcasm. Whether the individual sent you an email, posted on your Facebook Wall, or submitted a review to a website, keep your temper in check. Begin your response with concern, i.e. “We’re sorry you feel that your needs weren’t met during your office visit.” If you need time to investigate the complaint, say so, i.e. “We’re researching your concern now and will respond to you fully as soon as possible.” Then be sure to do so – otherwise, other current and potential patients will note your lack of follow-through. Take care to observe HIPAA regulations; you may have to be content with “We’ve achieved resolution on this issue; please call our office at X for more information. Other patients who have questions can also call this number.” Call the patient as well; you’ll want to do your best to ensure they don’t slip through the cracks and continue to feel badly towards your practice, as well as spread that negative impression among other patients. Conduct a mini-training to ensure that staff responds to questions about the complaint with concern and with the information your physician(s) deem appropriate.

As a practice manager, you have probably noticed that the number of patient appointments – and the accompanying revenues – tends to ebb and flow. Physicians’ offices are not subject to the same cyclical nature as, for example, retail stores, which rely on holiday shopping to make up for the slow times. However, you may well experience slowdowns during summer, when people take vacations, and around the holidays, when they visit family and spend all their available money and time shopping for gifts. Slowdowns do vary by specialty and geographic area; cosmetic dermatologists, for example, may see an increase in appointments as patients prepare themselves for holiday parties, and gastroenterologists may also see more patients after holiday over-indulgences.  

Nearly everyone who works in the healthcare industry believes they are achieving the objective of helping others.  But if they don’t measure patient satisfaction, many of those in medicine are making erroneous assumptions.  Many patients who receive inferior care never complain to a representative of the medical practice, but instead are noncompliant with treatment protocol and/or switch to another provider.  Both of these end results cost the practice money because these patients either sharply curtail their visits or abandon the practice altogether. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

With April Fools day upon us, it brings to mind an April Fools joke that went bad. Years ago I had kidnapped a co-workers stuffed animal. I then took pictures of it in various positions, ie. Next to a knife, next to a gun, in a frying pan, etc. Each day I would put a different ransom note on her desk with one of the pictures. We all had a good laugh. We now have a co-worker who has a little duck on her desk that she cherished as an old friend gave it to her. I decided to do the whole kidnapping thing again. I took the duck after she left for the day, brought it home, put it on my kitchen table and was going to get my camera and all the props. I was distracted by a phone call, getting dinner ready, etc, etc. Later that evening, I got ready to do the pictures and ransom notes and THE DUCK WAS GONE!!!!!. I searched everywhere and getting more panicky by the minute. I finally found the duck. My dog had gotten it off the table and chewed the head. Now I am feeling awful because I know how much this little duck meant to her. All I could do was fess up, so I wrapped the ducks head in a bandage, put a little drop of red fingernail polish on it and tell her what happened the next day. Lucky for me she saw the humor in it , and she now cherishes the duck even more.