Marketing for Success
Healthcare organizations are not exempt from the financial problems and woes facing other corporations today; they too must “adapt or die”. Whether large or small, healthcare organizations must constantly seek and implement business and marketing strategies to retain customers (patients) and to attract new ones.
When it comes to healthcare, patients (customers) are demanding quality care that is affordable, offers easy access to primary and specialty care, in close proximity to their home or place of employment and good customer service.
Patients that are unhappy with their healthcare plans or providers are walking with their feet - right next door to the competition.
How to Have More Effective Staff Meetings
Communication is an important part of keeping a medical practice running smoothly, and staff meetings are a great way to keep those lines of communication going, whether you hold them daily, weekly, or monthly. Make sure the conversation is two-way. Employees want to know what’s going on with the practice, and they also want their voice to be heard. The goal is to work together to build your practice.
ROI: How Your Marketing Measures Up
After all of the website updates, Facebook posts, newsletter sends, print advertisements, and other elements of your marketing mix are placed in front of patients and potential patients, how do you determine the effectiveness of each and whether or not you should continue to invest time and money in them? The answer lies mostly (but not totally, as will be explained later) in your ROI, or return on investment. ROI is the primary indicator of how your marketing measures up.
Determining ROI is not difficult, but it can be complicated. You’ll need to know the cost of each marketing campaign and the amount of revenue that was generated by each campaign. The reason this can be complicated is due to tracking – if you are the practice manager for a plastic surgeon’s office and a new patient comes in for a face lift, how will you know what motivated her to choose your physician?
How to Become Part of a Referral Network
Joining and actively participating in a medical practice referral network provides many potential benefits. As a practice manager, you can use the referral network to grow your patient base, help your physician(s) offer better care to their patients, and get great business ideas from your peers on important issues such as reimbursements and improving efficiency. You may also find support and encouragement during what are busy, tough times for many medical practices.
Adding Products and Services to Your Practice
If you’re a practice manager who’s concerned about dwindling patient revenues, you’ve probably already considered adding products and services to your medical practice. But many practice managers stop there because they don’t know how to decide which products and services are appropriate for their practices. There are myriad options for expanding your practice offerings, and sifting through them can become an overwhelming chore. Here are some criteria to consider when adding products and services to your practice.
7 Tips for Balancing Parenthood and Medical Practice Management
You already know how to manage a medical practice, but how do you go about managing your home life? It isn’t that different. The skills you use at work – organizing, planning, and coordinating staff – can be just as useful when managing your family.
8 Tips for Keeping Your Staff Happy
A happy staff makes for happy patients, and happy patients means more business. You will also find that employees are more productive, and you will be more likely to retain them, which will save you the time and cost of training new workers. Putting a little more time and effort into keeping everyone happy is a win-win!
The High Cost of Not Screening Potential Employees
You would be naive to think that all everyone is honest when they fill out a job application, especially when it asks if the applicant has been convicted of a felony. They may think that they will not be hired if they answer truthfully. Employers should perform a criminal background check on applicants to be sure they don’t have a criminal background. If not, they could be subject to legal ramifications for negligent hiring practices.
How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Practice
LinkedIn, a professional social networking site, is somewhat similar to Facebook, except that profiles and interactions are oriented towards business. This makes it an ideal place to market your medical practice, as well as connect with other physicians and medical professionals, learn about conferences and symposiums, and share experience and information with colleagues.
Telecommuting Practice Managers: Tax Issues, Part One
Working from a home office has many advantages, one of which may be tax deductions. However, tax law just is as specific on this topic as on others, so you’ll need to keep a few things in mind. This information isn’t meant to take the place of an experienced tax professional, but it can help by giving you basic information and an idea of what records you’ll need to keep.