5 Time Management Strategies For The Medical Office
Is the team in your medical practice overwhelmed after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act? If so, there are ways to combat the stress and the number of hours they are putting in. Tried and true time management principles are good at their core but many were fine-tuned prior to technology and have not been adapted to the special dynamics in a medical practice. Below are five time management strategies that can help move your team from overwhelmed to productive and thriving.
Evaluate Time Spent
The first step, prior to making any dramatic changes, is to evaluate how your team members are spending their time. It is helpful to draw up a time sheet in 10 or 15-minute increments and have your staff fill them out? It is best if this is done over a 2 or 3-day period to get the best insight? This may allow you to analyze and average the time spent over a number of days. Once you have evaluated and analyzed how time is being spent, it is important to prioritize what is most important to your practice for each individual position.
Prioritize How Time is Spent
Patient care, record keeping, medical billing and collections and marketing all have their place in your practice. However, if your staff is overwhelmed due to an onslaught of new patients or because of the new regulations and reporting requirements, it is important that you recognize, and communicate with your staff, the tasks that are the most important. If you have a key member of your team confirming appointments, would it be wise to transition into an automated system that handles that? If a member of your team is spending time managing something that can be outsourced, perhaps it is time to evaluate your options.
Staff Trainings on Effective Time Management
Time management today is about more than just handling the task in front of you; it is about creating a balance in workflow to ensure that all have the information they need to do their jobs as well. Time management consultants and educators can provide customized training for your medical office team. Through training, you and your staff can learn to implement new strategies to ensure that top priorities are being handled in the manner you desire.
Organize the Office
When was the last time that your entire office conducted reorganization? With new technologies and reporting requirements, chances are you can find many ways to streamline your practice and reduce the stress on members of your team. Perhaps the location of the photocopier was placed 5 years ago no longer works with the flow of the office. Perhaps your team members need larger desks or workspaces. By doing a top to bottom reorganization, you have the opportunity to find the physical spaces in your office that are creating workflow barriers allowing you to devise effective workflow plans.
Outsource Where Possible
Outsourcing is an excellent way to reduce the stress of your medical office team, while lowering costs. One of the most popular tasks to outsource isĀ revenue management, which includes your medical billing and collections. By outsourcing your billing and collections, your staff can spend more time on patient care and keeping the practice running smoothly. Recovery Billing Solutions offers medical practices and long-term care facilities expert medical billing and collections, along with records management, managed care contract negotiations, insurance pre-authorizations and much more. Call today to learn more about how outsourcing these functions can help your medical practice increase revenues and efficiencies throughout your practice, while taking some of the pressure off of your staff.