What are the most effective ways to communicate practice management metrics to your staff?

1 Choose relevant metrics

Not all metrics are equally useful for every practice. You need to select the ones that reflect your mission, vision, values, and strategic objectives. For example, if you want to improve patient satisfaction, you might focus on metrics like wait times, appointment availability, and patient feedback. If you want to increase revenue, you might look at metrics like charges, collections, and denials. Choose metrics that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART) and that can be tracked over time.

2 Use visual aids

Numbers alone can be boring, confusing, or overwhelming. To make your metrics more engaging and understandable, use visual aids like charts, graphs, dashboards, or scorecards. Visual aids can help you highlight trends, patterns, comparisons, and progress. They can also help you simplify complex data and make it easier to digest. Use colors, labels, and legends to make your visual aids clear and consistent. Avoid cluttering your visual aids with too much information or unnecessary details.

3 Explain the context

Visual aids are not enough to communicate the meaning and significance of your metrics. You also need to explain the context behind them. For example, you might explain how your metrics relate to your practice goals, how they compare to industry standards or benchmarks, or how they affect your staff and patients. You might also explain the factors that influence your metrics, such as external events, internal changes, or best practices. Providing context can help your staff understand the purpose and value of your metrics and how they can contribute to them.

4 Involve your staff

Communication is not a one-way process. You also need to involve your staff in the discussion and feedback of your metrics. For example, you might ask your staff for their input on selecting, collecting, or analyzing your metrics. You might also ask them for their opinions, suggestions, or concerns about your metrics. You might also acknowledge their achievements, challenges, or improvements based on your metrics. Involving your staff can help you build trust, engagement, and collaboration among your team and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

5 Be consistent and timely

Finally, you need to communicate your metrics on a regular basis and in a timely manner. You might establish a schedule or a frequency for sharing your metrics with your staff, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly. You might also use different channels or formats for communicating your metrics, such as meetings, emails, newsletters, or reports. You might also update your metrics as needed to reflect any changes or developments in your practice. Communicating your metrics consistently and timely can help you keep your staff informed, accountable, and aligned with your practice goals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?