Think back to your medical school training. One key element — good for you and patients alike — was making rounds: assembling at set times as a team of teachers and learners that discussed patient care plans. You reviewed data from first-hand observations and diagnostic studies. The team had a common goal for the patient’s health trajectory, and this goal and plan were communicated to the patient and the entire care team on the floor.

But “making rounds” is not just for patient care — it can be vital for the care of your practice as well.

Applying the concept of making periodic rounds at your own practice will benefit the whole organization — including, ultimately, your patients.

As we press past the 1-year mark of COVID-19’s impact, this is a great time to start (or continue) making regular rounds. Your practice has emerged over the last year with new procedures, new challenges and new employees, so now is a perfect opportunity to reacquaint yourself with all aspects of your revised practice to accelerate the recovery and rebuilding that lies ahead. Here are the steps to get started.

1. REVISIT YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN ... OR WRITE ONE.

A strategic plan provides the map your practice needs to stay on your desired path. Without a written plan, it’s too easy to make decisions opportunistically rather than by design, especially under duress. Abiding by a strategic plan aligns the owners with each other and with the management team.

Your plan does not have to be an all-inclusive, 50-page document. A few pages that describe your goals and plans will suffice. You should include answers to questions such as these to guide your 5-to-10-year plan:

• What will be the geographic boundaries of our practice?
• What will be our service mix? Are there services to add or subtract?
• What will be our provider mix? OD-to-MD ratio?
• What is our desired market share and market influence?
• What is a reasonable planning horizon?
• What is our desired annual growth rate?
• What is our succession plan?

2. UPDATE A TACTICAL PLAN THAT SUPPORTS THE STRATEGIC PLAN ... OR CREATE ONE.

With a clear strategic plan (one element might be, “We want to grow our patient revenue by 5% annually”), you are now ready to delineate the specific ways to meet the practice’s goals. For example, “To attain a 5% growth rate, we will improve internal customer service by reducing our wait time by 20% and increase our outreach efforts by visiting referral sources at least four times per year.” One important result of developing practice goals — and a tactical plan that defines the actions needed to reach those goals — is clearer communication between owners, the administrator and managers. Only when ownership and the management team are aligned will you be able to realize the practice’s full potential for excellent patient care, a professionally satisfied workforce and financial success.

3. SET GOALS BY DEPARTMENT.

With alignment of goals at the top of the company, it is time to set more granular goals, by department. This will further hardwire organizational alignment.

Goals must be clearly defined and communicated throughout the organization. Managers truly appreciate this process because it improves their ability to get their jobs done with the tools needed to lead their team consistently and with a clear direction.

Follow all important verbal meetings with written communication. This will clarify and reinforce your intentions and act as a helpful reference if any gaps or stumbles occur along the way.

4. MAKE THE ROUNDS.

Now that expectations and new policies have been re-set throughout the practice, be present. Show visible support for your leadership team. Even if you are the owner of a solo practice, visit each department (big or small) on a weekly basis to check on progress.

Be specific with your inquiries. For example, don’t ask the billing department, “How are things going?” Instead, ask an objective question like, “What is the percentage of open accounts over 90 days?” (PS: That benchmark is 12% or less.) It’s human nature that whatever is most important for you becomes the priority to your employees.

CONCLUSION

If you are an owner of a larger practice, it may be more challenging to have a constant presence, or it may be easier to stay in close touch with the technicians but rarely mingle with the front desk or billing staff. However, making rounds in all areas is key to staff motivation. If you want to inspire staff, they must be inspired by an owner’s goals and enthusiasm.

Some owners or administrators are reluctant to address issues (or even look for issues) because confronting staff or doctors feels intimidating and is easy to avoid. If this sounds like you, think about what would have happened to your patients during rounds when you were in training if you and the team were unable to have difficult conversations with patients, their families and each other.

Staying interested at all levels of your practice should not be taken to the level of undermining or second-guessing your administrator or management team. It’s important for you to hover, but not too closely or frequently. Confer with your managers, let them know your intentions when you rove around the practice and directly ask them, “Am I striking a proper balance between staying engaged with the staff but not undermining your authority?”

You and your management team should collect critical practice data, apply benchmark goals to your problem-solving and clearly communicate with each other and the staff.

If you can measure a problem, you can improve it. Keep making the rounds to be sure the solutions are sticking. OM

Corinne Z. Wohl, MHSA, COE, is president of C. Wohl & Associates, Inc., a practice management consulting firm. Corinne earned her Masters of Health Services Administration degree at The George Washington University and has over 30 years of hospital, physician practice management and management consulting experience. Her latest book, co-authored with John Pinto, is “UP: Taking Ophthalmic Administrators and Their Management Teams to the Next Level of Skill, Performance and Career Satisfaction.” For information on how to purchase this book or other inquiries, she can be contacted at czwohl@gmail.com or 609-410-2932.

John Pinto is the founder of J. Pinto & Associates, Inc., an ophthalmic practice consulting firm established in 1979. He is the most published author in the world on the subject of ophthalmic management and economics. The firm serves organizations worldwide, ranging from solo practices to high-volume market leaders, teaching centers and medical product companies, providing strategic planning, financial benchmarking and analysis, operations enhancement and marketing counsel. He can be contacted at pintoinc@aol.com or 619-223-2233.