3 Keys to Increasing Productivity for Physicians
Everyday we read more articles and studies showing Physician Burnout is on the rise.
The gradual decline in interest and care for patients is something most doctors experience at some stage of their career.
According to Dr Tom Murphy author of Physician Burnout, writing for KevinMD, surveys during the past five years show 87 percent of American physicians experience symptoms of burnout.
As Dr Murphy says “I realized burnout is not some psychological abnormality to be embarrassed to speak about in public — quite the contrary. Something very alarming is going on in the American health care system nowadays. Doctors aren’t happy, and neither are patients.”
Outside factors are often blamed for this sense of overwhelm, but very often it can also be a symptom of poor management inside the clinic.
Physicians are responsible for monitoring not just the health of patients but also the health of the clinic.
More than this, the compensation of doctors and those they manage is often linked directly to productivity and quality measures. To be an effective clinician, you must have a clear understanding of clinical values, and to be an effective manager you must also understand many business values.
With that in mind, here are three keys to creating better productivity and effectiveness within your clinic.
Specialization
Judy Bell of Physicians Practice says “In many practices, everybody does everything. This approach degrades production and squanders much of the strength of the team as it relates to skills, education, and judgement.”
“In a practice with three physicians and three assistants, it might be wise to hire one credentialed nurse to handle patient education, clinical call backs, and triage to relieve the other two medical assistants and keep traffic moving and physicians on time.”
This focus on specialization may be a huge time saver in your clinic if each person has a specific task that they focus on. Choose members of the team according to personality and interest so that the roles they take on fulfill them and are also performed correctly.
Benchmarking
As Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence is famous for saying, “You cannot manage what you do not measure.”
Every clinic will have its own process for how procedures are completed, yet following benchmarks can be an effective way to measure whether the way you are running your business is actually effective.
Using measurement tools such as digital dashboards is another effective way to ensure you are running at peak efficiency.
According to Pennsylvania Medical Society, the best Sources for benchmarking a medical practice are:
– Medical Group Management Association www.mgma.com
– Healthcare Financial Management Association www.hfma.org
– Medicare www.cms.gov
– National Commission on Quality Assurance www.ncqa.org
– The Pennsylvania Medical Society www.pamedsoc.org
Coordination
Tying everything together are individuals on your team. Each has a unique personality, strengths and weakness, as well as a unique perception of what is most important to do each day.
One of the key factors of any effective team is the ability to coordinate the workflow. This is done through clear objectives and also clear communication. Having regular team meetings to review the focus of each day, week, month or quarter is an excellent way to ensure you stay coordinated.
Time spent talking about and working on the business is an excellent investment. The more you plan ahead, the more the workday will be streamlined, focussed and effective.
These are just three simple ways to bring more productivity, energy and enjoyment into the medical clinic. There are always better systems and processes to learn, so remember to keep an open mind.
As business consultant Michael Gerber often says “Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working IN your business rather than ON your business.”
This equally true for physicians and their teams.
To increase revenue, productivity and patient engagement, you must work on your clinic as well as in your clinic.
