No matter the clinical setting you operate in, it usually feels as though there aren’t enough hours of the day. This causes problems for you, your teams, and most importantly, your patients. Keeping up with demand can be difficult at the best of times, but when you’re still dealing with the impact of the pandemic and other pressures, things can start to slip.
Making your practice run more efficiently can help you free up time, save money and improve workflows. All of these things will give you more time to dedicate towards your patients and make your practice run more effectively.
Want to free up time in your medical practice? Take a look at the following strategies to help you succeed.
Improve your most challenging workflows
It’s easy to keep things the way they are, but holding onto outdated processes and complex workflows can eventually cause big problems for your practice.
Taking time to review your most challenging or time-consuming workflows can help you find ways to make changes, improving your processes for better efficiency. There are many strategies for improving workflow, and with the right approach, you can significantly improve the workflows that no longer serve your practice, helping to save time and money.
Consider outsourcing
Are there processes within your practice that are suitable for outsourcing? Outsourcing has many benefits and could mean that your practice saves time on some of your basic processes, so that time can be freed up for the more specialist areas of your work.
Consider which areas of your work could be outsourced to help you dedicate your time to where it matters.
Make the most of virtual or remote services
More and more clinical practices are offering virtual or remote services. These types of appointments can save time, especially if they’re for routine questions or repeat prescriptions. Virtual or remote appointments can be provided by a specialized medical virtual assistant service for medical, and mental health professionals, freeing up space in your waiting room and your appointment schedule. These services offer convenience to your patients, but they are also a cost-effective way of managing your practice.
Be smarter with appointment times
Clinical appointments aren’t one-size-fits-all. Different patients have different needs, which can significantly vary the length of your appointments. For example, a new patient consultation may take more time than an average appointment, while older patients may need more time to complete their appointment.
You can establish the average appointment time for different categories of appointments, and make the necessary adjustments to your booking system. This could free up time to allow more patients through your doors, helping to cover the backlog while keeping workloads manageable.
Making changes to the way your practice operates could help you make some vital improvements. By finding ways to free up time and simplify your processes, you can run your practice more efficiently and provide a better service for your patients.