Transforming Surgery: How Strategic KPIs Can Elevate Your Practice

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the cornerstone of any successful business strategy. However, it's crucial to focus on the right metrics. Traditional KPIs like Relative Value Units (RVUs) and patient or case volumes might seem indicative of a practice's performance but fail to directly correlate with financial health. These metrics do not account for the underlying costs associated with generating volume, potentially leading to inefficiencies that escalate as a practice grows. This approach has led many healthcare businesses to operate on slim margins, exacerbating staff burnout and administrative burdens.

Shift from Patient Volume to Patient Impact

In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, it's essential for surgical practices to adopt standard best business practices and it’s transformative when you adopt the correct strategic business metrics.

One focus I have used to 10x my surgical business is to focus on Net Cash Flow per day and Net Cash Flow per patient as North Star Metrics. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, providing a more accurate reflection of financial health and operational efficiency. You can benchmark your practice's performance on these KPI’s against tangible financial offers, such as the daily rates offered for locum tenens positions.

Average Locum Tenens Rates by Specialty

Use these rates to establish a minimum expected cashflow threshold by targeting the highest rate you have seen as your low bar reference. If your practice's net cash flow per day falls short of this benchmark, it is time to reevaluate your operational strategies or seriously consider alternative opportunities that offer a better quality of life and more financial stability.

For Everyone Else: Bring Surgical Precision to Your Financial Performance

For the surgeons who want to be as good in the boardroom as they are in the operating room, imagine a scenario where your practice's financial performance is so robust that locum tenens offers aren’t even close. Achieving this level of success is not as far-fetched as it might seem. Even modest improvements in operational efficiency can lead to significant enhancements in cash flow, potentially reducing the need for extended work hours, side gigs, or even allowing for an extra day off each week while making more.

Bottom Line: As a surgeon you make your greatest impact on your business and in the lives of patients when you are doing surgical management and not medical management.

Setting New Standards for Surgical Success and Patient Care

At our company, we specialize in optimizing the patient journey for surgical practices. Our technology:

• prequalifies patients
• schedules appointments efficiently
• and assists in crafting prior authorization notes that are more likely to be approved by insurance companies.

This streamlined process not only brings more qualified surgical candidates to your practice but also significantly reduces the administrative load on the practice, mitigating burnout and enhancing overall patient care and profitability.

I invite surgeons, small and large group practices, and hospital system executives to connect and explore how we can collaborate to enhance your operational efficiency, improve financial performance, and elevate patient care. Together, we can redefine the standards of success in the surgical field. Let's ignite change and set new benchmarks for excellence.

Fire up!