Did you know that there are over 6,000 hospitals located in the United States? If you own a healthcare clinic yourself, you know that speedy service is the key to happy clients, as well as strong revenue numbers.
With that being said, improving day-to-day operations can be tough work. Knowing what to do, and what not to do, isn’t easy, especially if you’re a new health clinic owner.
The good news health handlers? We have got your back in the healthcare field!
In this article, we will tell you 7 things that you can do to improve your clinic’s day-to-day operations. We will tell you what factors to consider, as well as helpful ideas to try, so you can get the positive results that you’re looking for for your healthcare business.
7 Healthcare Clinic Operations Solutions
1. Invest in a Quality Scheduling System
If you have been running your healthcare clinic for a while now, you already know that your scheduling system is the backbone of your operation. After all, that scheduling system is the program that you use to plan everything that you are going to do.
It is also the system that you use to track everything that you have already done, which is important, especially for collecting payments.
That is why it is never a bad idea to upgrade your scheduling system to something that is a bit nicer than what you are currently using. You can even perform a software needs assessment for your clinic to get a better idea of what you need, as well as what changes you can make scheduling-wise to improve your operations.
2. Confirm Appointments Beforehand
Having issues with your clients missing appointments? Need to sure up your schedule and prevent these missed appointments from happening so often? If so, consider confirming appointments 24 hours in advance with your clients.
This will not only help you remind customers about appointments, but it will also give you a chance to reschedule customers who can’t make their previous appointment window. This, combined with charging for missed appointments, can help you keep your schedule windows tighter.
The best part? A good scheduling program will help you do this via text message or phone call. That means that you can limit the amount of work that your office staff has to do each day, which is always a good thing.
3. Find Ways to Improve Patient Flow
Once you have your patients in your facility, your goal should be to move them in and out as fast as possible. Improving your patient flow is often easier said than done, but there are some things that you can do to make things move at a good pace.
Our advice? Try to limit doctor-to-patient time to 20 minutes or less. That way you can have doctors seeing as many people as possible per day, all while getting people in and out of your building quickly.
4. Make Full Use of Your Facilities
A great way to speed up the workflow in your office is to make full use of your facilities. Maximizing your space, and having tons of areas to use, is the key to improving your patient flow.
Of course, you can only do what your facility allows you to do. But redesigning your current layout to something more client-friendly may be worth considering. This is especially true if you are currently having issues with getting clients in and out of your building in a timely fashion.
Doing this may require you to bring in a contractor to help you analyze your current layout and come up with creative solutions to problems. But doing that is often more than worth it, as again, it can make things easier for you and your team.
5. Utilize Information Handouts
Need to get people out of your building faster? If you aren’t doing so already, consider utilizing information handouts to inform clients about certain topics.
These handouts can be taken out the door with clients, meaning they can learn new information without having to stick around to hear it from their doctor directly.
That, combined with follow-up phone calls, can help you better communicate with clients while they are away from your facility. That way you can keep the space in your building free for important client appointments.
6. Delegate Tasks to Free up Time
We touched on this earlier, but it is important to find ways to free up your doctors and their schedules. This means that delegating tasks is crucial, as again, you can’t afford to have your key employees wasting too much time each day.
The best way to do this? Limit your client-doctor interaction times. Let other people on your team deal with your clients mostly, and then keep them moving, so you can get clients taken care of as fast as possible.
7. Create an Employee Incentive System
Of course, your clinic is only as good as your staff. Besides hiring quality people, and training them the right way, you need to also use positive reinforcement to show them that you appreciate their hard work.
How can you make this happen? By creating an employee incentive system to reward your staff. That way you can encourage them to work hard, and reach all of your goals, while also making them feel appreciated.
Still Not Sure How to Improve Your Healthcare Clinic?
As you can see, if you own a healthcare clinic, your main goal should be moving customers quickly in and out of your facility. That, combined with quality service, will help you take your health clinic to the next level.
So, keep these healthcare clinic tips in mind, and be sure to take care of your team, too, so you can reach all of your biggest goals.
Looking for more business tips and tricks? Check back with our blog often to learn more about the healthcare clinic industry and healthcare business hacks.