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Blog Post

Dec 07

Year-end Steps for Every Practice


With the monsters of Halloween back in the closets and under the beds where they belong, and the turkey leftovers all consumed (along with all the pumpkin pie) it is time for practices to close out one of the oddest years ever for healthcare.  As you are optimistically looking forward to the changes (hopefully) coming in 2021 and putting the finishing touches on any plans to launch next year, take some time to address important things that may have cropped up during the PHE.

Take care of your people.

This year has been tough on most everyone – including your staff.  Provider and staff burnout was a very real issue even before COVID-19 hit.  Prolonged frustrations and anxiety build to fuel disengagement and disenfranchisement.  Employees likely will not broadcast their dissatisfaction; you will first see it manifest as odd behavior or uncharacteristic sub-par performance. 

Before your folks get to that point, start an engagement effort that promotes open and honest communication about the workplace and effects of influences within as well as without (like the PHE).  Include surveys, huddles, and opportunities to address sensitive topics, in addition to an effective performance assessment and review program. 

Keeping providers and staff members engaged and supported is not only good for their wellbeing, but it also has a causal effect on the practice’s bottom line.

Disengaged employees cost companies billions each year due to lower productivity and personnel turnover costs when separation is the result.  Conversely, highly engaged employees are significantly more productive (17%) and foster environments customers (your patients) are more likely to favorably review.

Be there for them and they are more likely to be there for you.

Take care of your image.

That positive (or negative) environment can contribute to the flavor of online reviews your practice and providers receive.  Monthly assessment of online comments for your practice is important for maintaining a positive reputation.  Most people looking for a service business (like healthcare) check out online reviews, including businesses and agencies looking to do business or refer business.

Having a negative review is not as horrible as it might seem.  It is impossible to please all the people all the time.  Since nearly 90% of consumers reportedly read the responses to reviews, it is important to respond early and efficiently (remembering all the rules of HIPAA, etc. along the way…).  Using your Website, blog, social media, etc. to post useful and positive information increases the good exposure and reduces the negative. 

People do not often take time to post positivity; take the initiative to turn bad into good.

Take care of your strategic position

Maintaining quality, highly engaged staff that promotes a positive and professional medical practice environment and produces a mostly positive online presence while delivering high quality care helps your practice maintain its relative position in an increasingly competitive market. 

Your competition is hard at work trying to accomplish the same while positioning themselves to take advantage of missteps by your or others in your market. 

As a medical practice, you have an edge over other types of business because you can focus more on your individual patient relationships, grow them through an effective care team, and make patient-centered changes quickly when needed.  The competition can, too.

Keep vigilant for new competitors and new threats in a competitive market.  If you become complacent, stop looking to improve quality, or lose focus on customer service, you may expose your practice to external threats.

As Will Roger once said: “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

Take some time at the end of 2020 to review your plans and get ready for 2021.  If you want a closer examination of how integrating services like remote patient monitoring (RPM) can make a positive impact on your patients and your practice, register on our site (tells us you are human, and you want us to contact you) and hit the “Free Consult” button on our homepage.

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