Systems Failure Equals Death: Why Systems and Processes in Your Practice Matter

Several organ systems comprise the human body. Altogether, they drive the many physiological processes that keep the body running. Much like our own bodies, medical practices need functional systems and processes to exist and thrive.

Medical practice management does not differ from managing a business. In order to succeed, physicians must keep their practice’s cogs running efficiently.

However, some doctors can still overlook the importance of solid systems and processes for their practices. This oversight cripples podiatrists and blindsides even the best of internists. The notoriety of medicine no longer guarantees winning in this ever-changing and fast-paced field.

Here are a few reasons why efficient systems and processes ensure the longevity of any medical practice:

1) Improved patient satisfaction

A study published in BMJ Open Quality Journal this year reported an increase in patient satisfaction (in terms of Press Ganey Likelihood to Recommend scores) from 64.73% to 74.64% with improved organizational processes.

Your patients are your clients and customers. The quality of your services accounts for a great portion of the overall patient experience. But this patient journey does not begin and end within treatment rooms.

To keep your patients happy, improving the internal processes of your practice is a must. The “build it and they will come” mindset no longer carries much weight. Without a well-organized and systematically-structured practice, you will only succeed in setting up your practice for failure and make you lose your existing and future patients.

2) Lowered staff turnover rate

Your staff looks to you for direction when they join your team. They expect that you have the structural framework built to keep the practice erect. When team members feel like an organization’s very foundation is flimsy, they are burdened with the effort to keep it from collapsing.

This added responsibility of coping with a flawed system to keep the practice running distracts from your primary focus—patient care. The processes do not work the way they are meant to, so the staff members are hindered from giving their all for the roles they were initially hired for.

Their workload increases and their growth opportunities in their chosen niches are hampered. This could invariably lead to burnout, and eventually, excessive and expensive turnover.

3) Increased financial stability

Running a practice involves many daunting things, such as patient records, legalities and dealing with insurance eligibility and billing. Medical practices are businesses and, therefore, run on revenue.

Ironing out the wrinkles in your billing and insurance verification processes will improve cash flow and decrease potential account receivables. Improving the accuracy of patient information capture also ensures that you miss no insurance eligibilities, which ultimately leads to greater revenues and cash flow for your practice.

4) Renewed focus on improving your practice

With your systems and processes in place, you can be confident that your ultimate patient experience goes smooth from appointment scheduling to follow-up sessions. In turn, your staff feels accomplished and satisfied for serving patients who enter and leave the clinic happy.

When you achieve such great results in these areas of your practice, room for growth finally becomes available. You can seek to empower your staff all the more by fostering a culture for patient education.

Alternatively, you can also leverage modern technology to further advance the growth of your practice. With the new era of medicine, all sorts of technology-driven tools are at your disposal. These include practice management systems, EHRs and even medical virtual assistants.

Keep Your Engines Running

Running a practice is no easy feat, and many physicians do not feel prepared to start one of their own. However, this should never be cause to cease stepping forward and braving the tide to change your medical practice for the better.

Bottleneck Medical Virtual Services has a 7-step hiring formula that not only helps alleviate the pains of running a practice. We offer a systemized approach to building your own practice around existing technologies so you can finally improve the way you practice.

Learn how you can hire your own medical virtual assistant and virtual medical scribe by scheduling a free consultation with us today!

Got anything that you would like for us to cover for our next blog? Let us know in the comments below!

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