Imagine managing a baseball team. You’ve got some star players and some very good ones.
Every touchpoint a physician or medical group has with a patient is an opportunity to build the relationship — it’s also an opportunity to dramatically increase the chances, and speed, of patient collections.
Develop your group’s internal resources. For example, make certain that your group is tightly structured to keep its weakest members from splintering under pressure. In turbulent times, individuals are often too concerned about their own survival to be focused on the group’s success.
The sky is falling — I know, I heard it on the news today. The healthcare market is in a state of flux.
Okay, we’re in a recession. But that doesn’t mean that you should believe ALL of the doom and gloom reported by the media.
What’s a medical group worth? Ah, one of the eternal questions. Okay, maybe not, but it can be an important one.
Here’s a vaccine for office based physicians thinking of entering into an office sharing deal or a practice merger deal, with one or more other physicians: Document the deal before it actually commences. And, if the deal changes, document the change.
A few weeks ago, I attended a funeral. I couldn’t help that my mind wandered to the fact that many physicians and physician group leaders run their practice’s business operation as if they were locked up in a box . . . sorry to be so morbid . . . coffin-like, in that they just keep on doing what they’ve always done in terms of treating patients, essentially ignoring many if not all real business issues, and will keep on doing the same until they run out of air.
You’ve asked for it: The three most important things I recommend you do for your medical group to thrive in a down economy. Here they are.
GM ran its business into the ground by becoming focused on everything other than building cars that their customers wanted. They didn’t even understand who their customers were (in the car business, manufacturers hold to the belief that the dealers are their customers). But when people stop buying cars, the dealers stop buying cars and the whole system slows or shuts down.
