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[S896]Start A Medical Practice

by John Burke, Joh

Most health care managers spend a good portion of their day dealing with patients both directly and indirectly. If there's one thing I've noticed it's the comfort that consistency brings to their medical experience. By that I don't just mean having a doctor they can trust, but also nurses and office staff they know and can depend upon.

I was reminded of this as I read a recent Medical Group Management Association article about rewarding a good staff as a means of keeping them in your employment:

''One way leaders minimize turnover is by rewarding employees for helping the practice succeed. The clinic also gives staff members a voice in the practice's operations...Employees can have a direct effect on practice operations in several ways. Because they serve as liaisons between patients and clinic leaders, employees use a feedback box to capture comments they hear from patients. Those submissions are reviewed monthly at staff meetings so all employees and providers are aware of issues and can help provide solutions."

Of course, this requires that everyone put their egos aside for the benefit of the overall practice, and in places where there is an established hierarchy it can be difficult to share information so freely. However, giving every employee a voice and rewarding their effort increases their commitment to the work they do, and patients intuitively know when the people who care for them are truly involved.

At our office, we offer year-end bonuses and increased vacation time for ideas that save money and time. In a small work environment where advancement opportunities are limited, it is our way of keeping people in the fold. It helps make it a place that I look forward to going into every morning, and props up morale.

I'm lucky. The office I manage is able to pay a competitive wage, which is invaluable in both attracting and keeping a high quality staff. However, it's been my experience that while a satisfactory paycheck is vital, it's not the only way to keep office morale high.

One of the main things I do is recognize achievement. When someone does something noteworthy or makes a valuable suggestion, I make note of it and during the next office meeting, I take the time to mention publicly just how grateful I am to that particular person. Praise, when legitimately given, is a terrific way to make an employee strive for excellence.

I also will send out the occasional complimentary email for the whole office to read, or even something as personal as a post-it on someone's computer. I'm careful not to go overboard or say too much, but I've found that people really appreciate the fact that their deed was remembered. Granted, we're all professionals, and should routinely be doing outstanding work, but that doesn't mean we don't like getting complimented for it on occasion.

Another thing I do with everyone in the office is plan small events like a dinner out together or even something informal like a bowling party. Nothing reinforces the sense of working in unison like bonding outside of the workplace. It also helps break down the barrier between doctors and office staff, keeping everyone approachable and on good working terms.

Sometimes I jokingly refer to our office as a lifeboat. We sink or swim together. It isn't necessary that we like or care about everybody on board, but it sure does help.

Your medical practice is your lifeblood and making sure that it runs as smoothly as possible is a group effort. From your medical receptionist to your office manager and file clerk, everyone has to be ready to work and assist the patients. Your staff is the ones your patients come into contact first and if they are stressed out your practice could suffer, especially if your receptionist's demeanor is less than amicable. Your receptionist is the first person your patients see and if their demeanor is warm and pleasant, you're practice will probably run smoother than if you receptionist is surly and mean.

What causes your medical staff to be less than amicable? They are overloaded with work. This is not a complaint, it's a fact of life and by looking into a virtual answering service for you practice you may be able to help lift some of that stress and set your practice back into smoother waters. Even on your receptionists best day the demands of your patients in the office, the phone consistently ringing, and running back and forth to make copies and pull charts can take the most organized person down. With a virtual answering machine your receptionist can launch it when things in the office get hectic.

A virtual medical answering service will help eliminate the need to put patients on hold. It can be the first thing a patient calling in to your office will hear and with detailed instructions they can get to speak to your live staff quicker and more efficiently. Sometimes a patient has a single quick question to ask, a question your nurse could actually answer. By setting up a virtual answering service, your patients have the option of speaking to the nurse or leaving a voice mail for the nurse without the rigor moral of going through the receptionist, being put on hold, talking to the receptionist again, waiting...you see the pattern. A virtual answering service will eliminate much of this.

A good virtual answering service will also help you and your staff weeds out the emergency calls that should be handled first from the non-emergency calls. Yes, all patients believe that their problem is an emergency, but you can program the virtual answering service to forward into the office only those calls that are true emergencies. Most often than not patients who are presented with a message that briefly details emergency criteria will realize that they are not dying and can actually wait until your office calls back.

Virtual answering services also helps free up your live receptionist so that they can take care of the other tasks you have assigned them. It allows them to step away from the desk to retrieve files, to deliver messages, or to simply aid a patient into a waiting room chair. Plus, a virtual answering service program can be programmed to accomplish other tasks in the office, further assisting your staff in doing their daily work more efficiently without some of the stress they had been feeling.

These virtual answering services are not a substitution for a live medical receptionist. Instead, they are a tool to help you and your staff be able to devote more time to your patients and their needs. Virtual answering services need no sleep, so they can handle your patients needs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, going so far as to call your at home when there is an emergency. They are an affordable alternative to hiring a temporary during vacation time, and they will cover for your receptionist when they call in sick.

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Both John Burke & Aubrey Andrew are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John Burke has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Health and Fitness. VIVA Transcription provides medical transcription service to hospitals and clinics across the United States and Canada. Learn how. John Burke's top article generates over 2900 views. Bookmark John Burke to your Favourites.

Aubrey Andrew has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Personal Desktop and Internet Marketing. Top writer Aubrey Andrews writes frequently about Medical Receptionist and Medical Practices Efficiency. The author focuses on topics about Virtual Receptionists and Aut. Aubrey Andrew's top article generates over 4400 views. Bookmark Aubrey Andrew to your Favourites.