Regardless of the specialty in which you work, having effective practice management techniques will be key to your success in the medical world. Simply put, no matter how strong the care you provide to your patients is, you won't be getting everything you can out of your practice unless your management is as close to perfect as possible. While there will always be some level of inevitable mistakes in this sort of work, it's important to recognize that a continual, ongoing evaluation and adjustment of your practice management techniques can be extremely beneficial to you, your staff and your patients. Take a look at these key tips, suggestions and techniques to help you avoid a practice management epic fail:
Don't simply 'think' your goals
Imagine that you're setting a resolution for the new year to get in better shape. You might start out strong, going to the gym every day and putting in some serious effort. Over time, however, it becomes easier to get complacent and make excuses or accept your current state. Writing down your fitness goals and tracking your progress can be an excellent way to stay dedicated and on top of things. This same mentality can be applied to practice management. According to the Optometry Times, a lack of written goals can lead to poor practice management techniques throughout your practice.
"A lack of written goals can affect your practice management."
Make sure your goals for your practice are written down and posted in areas where you and your staff can view them regularly. Being reminded of your goals in this manner will help you achieve them.
Find ways to reduce human error
Even with the most capable practice management software, your office is always going to be subject to a capacity for human error. For example, in an article recently tweeted by Arizona Law Buzz, it was reported that many medical bills are generated with human-caused errors.
Medical bills commonly have billing errors: Medical centers in Arizona and other parts of the country frequent... http://t.co/xrJQ0dC3fZ
— ArizonaLawBuzz (@ArizonaLawBuzz) April 22, 2015
While this is a large and highly visible example, human error can manifest in smaller but equally detrimental ways. Ensure that your onboarding processes put a large focus on training individuals in best practices for their positions. Also, follow up with your employees regularly regarding what aspects of the job are most difficult. Consider leading some practice retreats or discussions around the theme of how to reduce human error. If nothing else, these methods will help you identify areas with room for improvement.
Play your position when it comes to billing
If your practice employs more than a handful of individuals, then it's likely that you have a dedicated medical billing expert who handles all of your invoices. While this is a great way to reduce error and organize billing, you're going to want to do everything you can to help them keep focused. Overloading your billing expert with unnecessary tasks can lead to a less organized billing cycle, which is most certainly a practice management epic fail.
