Every medical practice faces ongoing challenges in maintaining a successful bottom line. New challenges crop up whenever Medicare and Medicaid policies, or the economy, changes. Still, a handful of problems rise to the top in most medical practices. Here are some ideas for solving them before they become overwhelming.
What are some problems?
In looking at the top challenges that medical practices face, first on the list might be administrative burdens. Most doctors go into medicine because they want to help people and because they are interested in science and medicine. They probably do not expect to spend a significant amount of time filling out forms and figuring out how to practice medicine profitably.
Although administrative burdens are not likely to go away, there are some potential solutions. These include staying current with business trends and creating standard operational procedures and routines, both clinically (to the extent possible) and administratively. It is also important to train and empower select staff members to handle most business-related activities, so you can concentrate on practicing medicine.
The decision of whether to opt for maintaining an independent practice or joining a health care system is another significant challenge many physicians face. Currently, there is a trend toward consolidation into larger group practices, thus enabling physicians to leverage size without having to work for hospitals. This option also allows physicians to share resources, which can go a long way toward relieving the administrative burdens. For some physicians; however, hospital work may be the way to go. It all depends on your personality, energy and focus.
Often one of the biggest headaches for physicians is the need to do battle with payers. It is hard to imagine that this problem is going to go away anytime soon. However, having a lean practice with motivated and trained staffers who can stay on top of billing and payer issues can go a long way toward easing the pain. Size matters in negotiations with payers, so group practices or regional networks can help to make this issue more manageable and profitable.
What about patients?
The advent of the Internet and easy access to health care information—regardless of how inaccurate or uninformed it is—can complicate the doctor-patient relationship. It can be hard to balance practicing good medicine with handling patients who attempt to dictate their own health care. Talking to patients about their ideas for their care in a respectful manner can be challenging if you feel that their ideas will not produce optimal results or could even be harmful.
It is important for physicians to be firm in clarifying doctor-patient roles. Sometimes, no is the appropriate response. Also, like parenting, medicine can be a business of tough love.
What about staff?
Keeping quality staff is also a common challenge. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff—from the receptionist to the physician partners—can be tricky. Studies indicate that high pay and benefits are not the only reasons people stay at a job.
A key to staff retention is often related to empowerment—letting staff be in charge of their duties and showing them that what they do is important and appreciated. Rewards for good results can be both creative and meaningful and do not necessarily have to be raises. Ideas to consider include extra paid time off, gift cards and flexible schedules. Showing appreciation to staff for their efforts also can go a long way.
What about legal issues?
Finally, a top headache is liability. Some states and specialties are hit particularly hard by liability insurance. This issue can drive physicians out of private practice into health care systems because those systems can more easily absorb the tab for liability insurance.
If there is a solution here, it is for doctors to practice defensive medicine, erring on the side of caution. Although this can defy trends in paying, physicians who order more diagnostic procedures may find this can lead to less litigation. Of course, this needs to be balanced with quality care, with the reasons for additional tests being well documented. You also need to keep in mind what will and will not be reimbursed to payers and the cost (both financial and other) of additional procedures to patients.
Good management leads to a healthy practice
There is no doubt that practicing medicine in modern times has challenges, particularly in the areas of billing and reimbursement. But, savvy doctors who recognize that they are business owners and physicians can ensure that the practice runs smoothly and profitably, while continuing to offer high-quality patient care.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
