Will You be in Practice Three Years From Now?

by: Robert F. Priddy, third_Evolution

editor's note: I was looking for a document recently, and in my computer keyword search, this article popped up. I read it over and then checked it properties. I wrote this in February 2008. As I read it, I realized I could have written it yesterday. However, when I cite certain events, recall, it was written in 2008!

Will you be in practice three years from now? A recent California Medical Society survey asked their members this question and 43 percent said no. If your answer is “no,” or perhaps a more qualified, “I wish I had an alternative,” you really have three options. 

The first option, you can do nothing. If that’s your path, you’re a member of a rapidly growing group of physicians we classify as “quietly suffering.” You find much of your practice unrewarding, but you’re making a reasonable income and you doubt you could easily replace your income in another field. You’ve resigned yourself to tough it out. 

Your second option - find another career. Wow – a bit scary? What would you do if you didn’t practice medicine? You’ve probably heard of a colleague who closed her doors and became the medical director of ROBOMED, some up and coming bio-tech firm. She’s working fifty to sixty hours a week, pulling in $200k, paid vacation, bennies, stock options – the whole nine yards. We hear about “her” every so often too, but we haven’t met “her” yet. (actually, in 2008 those jobs were pretty rare… today more prevalent, but certainly not in abundance.)

Third, you could transform your practice into what you always wanted it to be. You may have some friends who work with less stress and enjoy their practices more, but you never understood how they did it. Whether its luck or skill, or some combination, they have a highly supportive staff, informed and appreciative patients and their finances are in good order. They’ve created a culture of success. If that’s your goal, read on. 

While the full how-to is an involved and detailed process, we’ll distill it to its core components and get you on the path to your culture of success. 

First, how would you define practice happiness and success? It’s an individual answer, and the reason no matter how hard you try emulating your friend, it doesn’t work. Critical issues and areas for a culture of success include:

• Practice schedule and work load
• Free time or family time
• Staff relationships
• Patient relationships
• Malpractice concerns
• Payor issues
• Outside intrusions, regulatory issues, etc…

Begin with your schedule because schedule and work load drive most of the others. First ask, what would be an ideal schedule. Then ask can you afford to work on that schedule. Don’t guess; create a spreadsheet to map your patient activity, office visits, procedures, deliveries; the key metrics for your practice. Next value your activity, what are you reimbursed. Finally is it possible and are the dollars enough. You’ll probably need to do some compromising, but we promise you can get nearer your goal than you are today. Once you’re rescheduled yourself, move on. 

Free time may be more of an afterthought – something you miss when it’s not there. However, if you schedule free time just as you do your patients, you’ll have more, and you’ll find that both the quantity and the quality of that time can increase. 

Sometimes you just have the wrong staff, and change is necessary. However, most staff wants to be supportive but they don’t know how. It’s your job to provide them clear, concise, and consistent direction– most of all consistent. There is nothing wrong with telling them you simply want it done “your way,” but you’ll often get better results if you present outcomes to them and solicit their input on the methods. 

Demanding patients are much like unsupportive staff. They don’t know how you want them to behave. You have to tell them, and again clarity and consistency in your communication is essential. And your message must be supported by your staff. 

Malpractice concerns often link with whether or not your staff is supportive and how well patient expectations are managed. If you address staff support and patient expectations malpractice worries are likely to diminish. 

Payors and regulatory issues are all about process. We don’t have space to outline these processes, but simply stated, if you have sound replicable processes to address billing and collections, HIPAA, Medicare/Medicaid rules and other such issues, control, measurement and compliance should become easier. 

A culture of success in your practice is all about you and your ability to know what you want and how to get it.

If you'd like to learn more, don't hesitate to contact me for an initial, no-charge, no-obligation Hallway Consult... Just Text 720-339-3585.or visit me at https://thirdevo.com.