Becoming more efficient not only reduces waste and stress, it also presents a professional and polished image to your patients

Why are private practices complaining about business and profits being down? Most of this downturn in business is due to managed care and cost containment reimbursement, which creates a lower return of income. Unfortunately, at the same time, private practitioners are experiencing escalating costs of doing business.

If chiropractors are to survive, they must plan now on how to increase without decrease. The key is to implement a system of office efficiency by lowering the cost of providing health care, while increasing quality of patient care. DCs need easy tools to work smarter, not harder and longer.

A workable plan for greater efficiency starts with becoming mentally tough. Weed out all the old beliefs and rules, and throw away any emotional baggage that has tied you to outdated procedures. Be honest with yourself and the staff, and admit that mistakes and poor decisions in the past have added to your state of inefficiency.

A Clean Slate
These five easy steps can boost the bottom line and make your office more cost-effective and efficient.

1. Have a staff meeting to involve your staff on this new project of lowering the cost of providing health care. Two important reasons to include your staff are a) they probably know more about the business than you do; and b) without their involvement, they may fear that your new plan includes firing them. Be sure to plan the meeting agenda so valuable time is not wasted discussing irrelevant matters, such as chit-chat or gossip.

2. Write a plan that includes specific points to be accomplished within certain time frames. Do not try to change everything at once. Chaos will occur if too many changes are attempted without true commitment to the change. For example, the first plan is to work within a budget for office supplies. Have someone on your staff research costs and write a proposal for everything from the letterhead to paper clips. Part of the project is to become aware of all costs, not just high dollar items.

3. Wasted time is a costly error in most offices. Workflow and time-consuming procedures add to the price of doing business. The number of employees an office needs is determined as much by procedures as it is by patient load. Have your staff determine which procedures are time robbers, and consider eliminating procedures that cause double work. For example, if the front desk enters charges on a pegboard and then an insurance clerk inputs the charge into the computer, this is double work. Get a computer at the front desk and input the charges as patients check out.

4. Time and money are lost in unorganized workspaces. Files and cabinets should be neat and orderly for easy access. Have new patient files made up in advance. If your office is planning on having 30 new patients for the month, do not make only 15 new patient files.

Keep files for regularly scheduled patients separate from those who come in only once a month. Monday patients who are coming back on Wednesday do not need to be refiled in the master file and pulled again Wednesday morning. Those files should be alphabetically filed in Wednesday’s box. Keep the daily files organized by time of day.

5. Prepare for the day. Each staff member should have a day planner and delegate time-sensitive projects in respect to patient flow. Pull all patient files and place them in the daily file by appointment times. This eliminates the last minute search for missing files when the patient walks in. Do not file insurance on days when 70 patients are scheduled. Do not follow-up on claims on days when most carriers experience a heavy call volume, such as Mondays.

Time Is of the Essence
Personal time management is an important tool for everyone in your office. Prioritizing tasks can help eliminate inefficiency in both time and activity.

• Create a to-do list. This can be done either the night before or in the morning. Make sure to prioritize in order of importance. Categorize the list with A for absolutely must do, B for it would be nice to do, and C for could do if there is time after all the As and Bs are finished.

• Bundle certain activities together. If a phone call needs to be made to an insurance carrier, have some filing or other busy work in front of you that can be done while on hold.

• Set short deadlines and compartmentalize time allotments. If you have to make phone calls, set aside 2 hours, not the entire day, or to write a report, give yourself 1 hour to type it up. Vary your tasks to keep fresh.

• Know your strengths and your weaknesses. If you are not a morning person, do not assign yourself detailed duties during the first 2 hours of your day.

• Remember to schedule time into your day to revive yourself. Eat a light lunch, have a fruit snack, and drink plenty of water. Your body and mind work more efficiently when properly fueled.

• Delegate. The most efficient offices work as a team.

• Avoid the pits, piles, and potholes. Do not keep telling everyone how much work you have to do—just do it! Misery loves company, but it does not achieve results. Piling work on your desk, will actually slow you down. Work on one project at a time. When your project is delayed due to another co-worker’s actions, start a new project—do not stop because your plan has a detour.

• Keep focused. Do not let one interruption throw off your entire day. Check your plan to ensure your goals are being accomplished. Plan out one week, one day at a time. The next week, review your accomplishments and write another plan for the new week.

None of this will happen overnight. All plans and lists must be tweaked to fit with the reality of running a practice. Be sure to consult your staff because they are your best asset and closest allies.

Ces Soyring, CA, is cofounder of the National Academy of Chiropractic Assistants (www.naca-online.com) and a chiropractic consultant. She can be reached at: 888-218-7757 or via email: naca_csoyring@yahoo.com.