Running a medical practice is no piece of cake. Healthcare is fast moving, ever changing and providers need to be responsive to this. Right now every business is also operating in a very tough global economic climate.
This means the approach you take to management for your medical or healthcare business is going to be critical to its success. And while traditional, in-house, practice management once seemed like the only tried and true option, things have changed.
External practice management — with the delivery of both onsite and virtual support — represents a model with a host of advantages and one that can grow and change with you. Here’s why.
1. Seamless staff management
The recruitment, training, and retention of reliable and trustworthy practice staff is often a major pain point for practice owners and doctors. Managing these important human resources aspects of a practice can place significant strain on both time and resources.
Added to this is the fact that most doctors and practice owners are simply not experts in ‘people management’ — many find the task overwhelming and a cause for stress. Enter the well of resources offered by a trusted external practice management provider. With networks of vetted practice staff at their fingertips and a team of human resource specialists on-hand to work directly with your practice to address its unique staffing needs, this is a game changer. Services an external practice management provider can offer cover recruitment and training, right through to rostering and review of staff performance and systems.
2. Cost savings
Building on the above, the costs of employing an in-house practice manager and practice team are significant: factor in wages, payroll tax, superannuation, insurances and training and you get the picture. By engaging the services of an external practice management provider you can avoid many of these costs, as well as the management burden that comes with them. You will pay a set fee to the provider to receive a range of services including staffing and the ongoing administration of it.
3. Services tailored and customised to your practice’s needs
By engaging with a provider who has expertise in working with medical and healthcare businesses of all sizes and specialties you are tapping into a wealth of knowledge and resources. Without needing to do any of the hard yards yourself you can access the specific combination of services your individual practice needs. These may include:
- Staffing
- Billing services
- Typing services
- IT infrastructure set up
- Cloud services and software
- Website design and management
- Marketing and networking
- Referral programs.
4. In-built checks and balances
Whether you are establishing a new private practice and require support with staffing and set-up, or yours is an existing practice experiencing staffing, billing or efficiency issues; by partnering with an external provider you gain in-built support that comes with vital day-to-day checks and balances.
Your provider will be managing and monitoring billing. Senior administrators will be overseeing your practice’s functions. And human resources experts will be managing staff and taking care of issues when they arise.
An experienced external practice management firm can deliver the efficiency and protection your business needs so you don’t have to.
5. A gateway to better work/life balance
The long, difficult years of medical study and training don’t offer any real preparation for running a business, do they? Setting up and then growing a medical practice is a steep learning curve, but it is no longer one you have to navigate on your own. Partnering with an external practice management firm can deliver the business management expertise you need without pressure for you to become a ‘jack of all trades’. With the business-side of your practice in good hands there will be space to plan well for growth and achieve the work/life balance you crave.
6. More time to focus on the medicine
Caring for patients is why you became a doctor. But the pressures of managing all of the business aspects of your medical practice can impact on your ability to stay focused and passionate about your craft. Working with an external practice management provider can give you the time and the peace of mind to put your energy where it needs to be: into the medicine.
7. Location flexibility
External practice management services offer excellent flexibility in relation to staffing, with the ability to utilise a network of staff that can fill short-term roles instantly and work in various locations. This freedom can allow for greater flexibility in where you choose to consult and operate.
8. Scale with ease
A medical practice moves through various phases of evolution. Managing set-up and all of the costs that go with it in the beginning phase can be eased by partnering with an external provider who has the contacts, resources and staff ready to support you. Then, as your practice grows, you can increase the level of support you need in-line with your growth. Conversely, towards the end of your career when you are looking to scale down your practice or hand it over to a successor, the support you call on can transition seamlessly into something that looks quite different.
9. Ready resources from established experts
A new practice software package is released claiming to be ‘future of patient management’. Who has the time to research and test it? Not you. Your practice website lacks functionality and it is impacting on your referrals. Who has the time to investigate web developers and find a solution? Not you. An established external practice management provider places ready-resources at your fingertips. And they will do the work for you.
Explore further
Learn more about external practice management with Prescribe Practice Management.
