Time management is essential for practices, yet many clinicians and practice owners find themselves wondering why their business isn’t more profitable. They’re seeing more patients but being less profitable, and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. The problem could easily be that the clinician is spending too much time involved in negative-dollar or no-dollar tasks.
Many jobs can and should be handled by integrated EMR software. The In Touch EMR™ system provides clinicians with automated functions to save time and money, increase productivity and accelerate profitability.
Negative-Dollar Value
A negative-dollar task actually hurts the practice, whether it’s the clinician or staff engaging in the activity. These actions steal time from the practice and severely hinder productivity. Negative-value activities include checking Facebook, email and texts. Making or taking phone calls via landline or cellphone reduce the time spent with patients and directly affect the bottom line. Clinicians need to ensure that negative-dollar activities within the practice are kept to a bare minimum.
No-Dollar Value
A no-dollar value task is one that can be done by someone other than the clinician. Responding to email, calling patients and physician offices, and ordering supplies are all tasks that should be delegated to someone within the practice that is efficient and capable.
Other no-dollar value jobs that clinicians shouldn’t be doing include answering the phone, paying the bills and scheduling appointments. These are tasks that fall within the $10-$15 an hour range. It doesn’t mean they aren’t important, it just means they can be done by someone other than the clinician.
High-Dollar Value
Clinicians should strive to only perform high-dollar value tasks. These are things that only the therapist can do. All facets of patient treatment fall within the high-dollar value range, from examinations to documentation.
Lifetime-Value
A medical practice is a business and there are some things that require the personal attention of the owner. These are tasks that provide lifetime value for the viability of the clinic. Owners should concentrate their time on conferences, business development, and managing and motivating staff. These are all jobs that will provide long-term dividends. Other jobs reserved for the practice owner include conferring with the accountant, working with a business coach and speaking with other professionals to learn what works for others in the profession.
Looking at reports is an essential part of business operations and among the lifetime-value tasks. They provide the clinic owner with information about the financial wellbeing of the practice. In Touch EMR™ provides business owners with a wide variety of sophisticated, in-depth reports to determine where referrals are originating, the most productive staff members, and which payers provide the best reimbursements.
