Case Study – Medical Practice (Specialist)

Challenge:

This medical practice (specialist) has a great reputation for quality patient care and expertise in their specialty area.  The practice showed consistent revenue growth; however eroding industry margins, employee turnover, and operational issues were consuming too much of the physician’s time – hindering long-term opportunities and impacting profit.

Our Goal:

Improve efficiency and reduce employee turnover in order to increase revenue and profits without sacrificing quality patient care.

Actions Taken:

• Analyzed and modified systems, including patient intake and care, billing and office administration procedures to facilitate training and delegation to staff.

• Revised position descriptions with clearly defined roles, skills, and associated measures for success.

• Developed and implemented a recruiting and hiring system to attract and bring in quality people — with an emphasis on clinical skills and technology required for EMR.   Replaced poor performers who did not meet these criteria.

• Shared business goals with the team in conjunction with performance bonus program to create more engagement and focus on continuous improvement.

• Implemented an employee appraisal system that supports employee personal and professional development.

 Our Results:

Within 12 months, the number of patient visits increased 22% without expanding the hours of operation or sacrificing patient care. The employee turnover is no longer a problem and the staff continues to take on and manage more day-to-day responsibilities.  This allows the physician to focus on patients and other growth opportunities within the practice.