Work smarter, not harder to keep your practice running as efficiently as possible:
Delegate! Don't perform tasks that don't require an doctor. Examine your activities frequently, and get staff input about ways to do them more efficiently. Delegate as many administrative tasks as possible without impairing your understanding of how the practice runs. If you're in a small group, and your practice manager or administrator isn't equipped to accept extensive delegation, help him or her develop the needed skills.
Improve patient flow. Regardless of the patient mix, the goal is to have an efficient schedule. Focus on providing appropriate care to as large a community of patients as possible. If you feel overloaded seeing a patient every 20 minutes, the process needs adjustments. Seeing the first patient 15 minutes late can put you behind and in catch-up mode the rest of the day. Show up to the office early to make sure you start your first appointment on time.
Don't wait for patients. Give new patients your demographics/registration form to fill out first. Wait until they're finished to hand them the health history questionnaire. That way, if a patient hasn't finished the history form while in the waiting room, your receptionist or nurse can send him or her to the exam room with a clipboard to finish it there. If you enter before it's done, complete it together.
Offer as many payment options as possible. Equip your practice so that fees can be accepted by any method the patient has access to—credit or debit card, cash, or check. Some practices even accept Paypal, Square or iPads with a credit card attachment to offer more options and also avoid credit card fees.
Hire a medical biller. Medical billing companies have the time, skills, and expertise to make sure your claims are in life with what insurance carries want to see, and they can also make sure your billing and coding is up-to-date with the latest industry regulations.
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