Strategies to run your Practice Successfully in 2018

2018 has brought a new set of opportunities as well as challenges for healthcare providers. Physicians continue to find themselves on the front lines of changing policies and technology threats. If you are among the practice owners hoping to make 2018 a fruitful year, then here are some of the strategies that might be of some help to you.

Amidst complex reporting requirements and changing patient expectations, don’t forget to set goals and create plans for the growth of your practice. Planning will also help provide motivation to take on the challenges and risks of new reforms and industry changes.

Make sure that your staff is well trained because happy patients will mean consistent cash flow. Factors like staff training, turnover and morale affect patient experience to a great extent. So you will have to invest in your staff to not only retain them but also to offer competent and friendly services to your patients.

Embracing data and business intelligence in 2018 has become vital to survive in business. Most practices have already taken the leap to an EHR and PMS (Practice Management System). If your practice will use these systems in the right manner, it will become easier to manage as well as measure productivity, revenue and workflow efficiency. However, a lot will depend on how well your are utilising the full value of the data. You can seek assistance from vendors and experts on understanding the reporting and built-in data gathering capabilities of your PMS and EHR.

If your practice hasn’t mastered patient collections yet, then make sure you do so this year. It is not only mandatory for protecting your practice revenue but also for retaining patient relationships. Educating patients about their financial responsibilities will help. Also, be prepared to invest in technologies that offer better deductible information and enable easy payments. As mentioned-above, the staff should also be well-trained in helping patients navigate the money-side of receiving care.

You will have to ensure that your physician team gets enough support from you. Don’t skip meetings with the team or mentoring sessions. Take every opportunity possible to make the physicians and clinical staff more productive by helping them solve administrative hassles and boosting their morale.

A new year demands a new approach towards planning and reflection, so make sure you follow these strategies and make the most of it.