Page 30 - BusinessWest September 30, 2024

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Patient Approach
Doctors Can Take Steps to Improve Efficiencies, Manage Time
EBY JAMES T. KRUPIENSKI, CPA
very day, it’s the same story for physicians. A couple of patients arrive late for their appoint- ments, and then a few unscheduled visits appear on your schedule. As the provider,
you stay late into the evening, but never really seem to get caught up. To make matters even more dif- ficult, reimbursement rates continue to be a struggle and expenses continue to rise, including the impact of employment costs in a post-COVID world.
One of the best ways to help combat these pres- sures is an effective workflow and time-management review. The problem is that we typically get so caught up in our daily schedules that we don’t always take the time to evaluate ways we can improve them. This is one area, however, where a little effort up front can help to reap significant financial benefits. This article
will look at some of the ways that a physician can more effectively manage their time.
Office Workflow
The first step that should be taken is to review the workflow of your office. What inefficiencies exist from the time a patient walks in the door to when they leave? Is there a bottleneck of patients crossing paths in the hallway, or does the provider have to search
to locate supplies that are continuously moved from place to place? If corrected, many of these inefficien- cies can result in the physician seeing more patients throughout the course of a day.
To identify these inefficiencies, try putting your- self in the shoes of one of your patients. Come in as a patient and go through the entire process of being a patient within your practice. By looking at the flow
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