BEST PRACTICES

Today’s lesson: Practice building 101

The quality of your internal foundation is the keystone to external achievement.

By Allan Walker

Many successful ophthalmologists attribute much of their success to building their practice from the inside out. These providers believe in a philosophy that preaches external success is only achievable once the internal foundation is cemented in place. These practices, as individual as they may be, have taken common steps that have led to their success.

Practical providers looking to get their house in order generally take the following actions:

Adopt a patient-first philosophy.

This is not an area for lip service: Patients are the most important component of practice success. They hold the key to growing your practice via family and friend referrals. Any mission statement should start with a patient-focused declaration, which can be transmitted into daily practice by all team members. Make sure you back up conversation and your mission statement with action. From the moment patients enter your practice, they should be made to feel special and wanted. Never ignore patients at any point in the encounter. Move them through the system as efficiently as possible and promptly communicate any possible delays. A happy, satisfied patient is the best — and most cost-effective — marketing tool a practice can have.

Embrace strategic planning.

Long-term, short-term and even daily strategic planning have become essential elements to practice success. Problems and challenges, as well as opportunities, present themselves on a regular basis, so practices must adapt. Successful practices use strategic planning as a way to modify the business model, if needed, or to tweak systems and processes to meet current circumstances. It is essential to conduct full-scale strategic planning sessions on an annual basis. Make sure to include tracking and accountability features to ensure progress is made on identified goals and objectives.

Every strategic endeavor — big or small — should be built on a team concept, for checks and balances purposes. For example, if the objective were to increase referrals over a designated time period, the endeavor would need:

1. A designated leader who would track progress and hold team members accountable for meeting their assignments;

2. Defined steps as to how the objective will be achieved;

3. Realistic, periodic growth goals that can be measured (i.e., 5 percent in three months; 10 percent in six months; 20 percent in a year).

Include a representative grouping of key staff in all strategic planning. More frequent planning sessions are a proven success factor and serve to focus staff on “the moment’s” success plan.

Commit to continuing education.

Personal and professional growth is important to every staff member and management should always encourage it. Tough economic times should not result in canceling continuing education (CE) programs. On the contrary, view CE as an investment in your practice. It can be less expensive in the long run, as employees frequently say the feeling of accomplishment following the completion of a self-improvement endeavor is more meaningful than a monetary reward. Obviously, any CE program should be managed frugally and with a keen eye on consequential improvement.

Develop a fair, consistent and engaging leadership team.

Management needs to be fair. Don’t play favorites. Everyone has a personal style, and it is up to management to acquire a comfort level with that style and to blend it in within the team framework. That’s what leaders do. Not that unacceptable behavior or work habits should be ignored, but to treat a vivacious, outgoing employee significantly different from a more reserved team member is not the right — or smart — thing to do. Make an effort to view individual team members as unique contributors to the overall success of the practice. Managers should be consistent about delivering discipline and praise. Make an effort to share some time with every team member on a regular basis. Such interaction can range from a simple hello to a more in-depth discussion. Doing so shows management is observant and cares.

Stay ahead of the competition.

Always keep a keen eye on the competition. Always know where the practice stands in the marketplace and why it enjoys that status. Do not become obsessed with competitors, but make it a point to know what they are doing and may do in the future. Market demographics can change relatively quickly, so be ready to take advantage of all potential opportunities.

For example, if a payer enters or leaves your market, you need to be the first to know and act. The same would hold true if a major employer brought a significant number of new employees to town, or if a competing practice was sold, closed its doors or stopped performing a procedure or service. Make sure your medical team is trained in the latest techniques and procedures, and carefully consider the purchase of appropriate, state-of-the-art equipment. Don’t forget to mystery shop your competition regularly; on occasion, mystery shop your own practice.

Have clearly defined reporting paths.

Communication is critical to practice success. All employees need to know their direct supervisor and to whom they report. Create and publicize a chain of command, even for positions that appear relatively self-sufficient.

Present this command chain in specific job descriptions and reinforce it during annual performance reviews.

The entire practice should know who troubleshoots which areas.

Enjoy each other.

Coworkers spend too much time at work to not get along. Bonded team members make a stronger team. Management should encourage socializing and friendship as much as possible. Of course, this can be a challenge but that should not stop management from trying to help staff enjoy each other’s company. Take the time to plan events that will build camaraderie. I have found that employees who enjoy each other's company often have higher production and job satisfaction levels.

Success starts from within.

To be externally successful — that is, to build an enduring base of satisfied patients who refer family, friends and acquaintances — a practice must be coordinated and confident internally. The goal of any management team should be to develop and fine-tune core beliefs, systems and processes that allow staff to focus on meeting patient needs without internal distractions.

Developing your team will result in a happy, patient-focused staff that strive for best-practice status. OM

Allan Walker is director of publications at BSM Consulting, an internationally recognized health-care consulting firm headquartered in Incline Village, Nev., and Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information about the author, BSM Consulting, or content/resources discussed in this article, please visit www.BSMconsulting.com.