"For a century private medical practice's stability has been functioning on the same platform as the gambling industry... where the house always wins, the physicians lose, private medical practice care remains inefficient and nonprofitable for independent physicians, and every physician has been prevented from from attaining their maximum potential in medical skills and medical knowledge during their medical practice careers.
Now Is the perfect time and opportunity to move your medical practice into high gear... quite a preposterous idea because you thought you were already there. Most medical doctors have no idea how they are doing in practice because they have not created a reliable way to measure it.
That’s a consequence of, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Some physicians count the number of new patients and patients leaving the practice in a month which helps very little.
Physicians have been trained to live in an environment of scientific and evidence based beliefs. Finances and business to most medical doctors are completely separate and seemingly obscure animals without a leash. Not only are these two foundational elements necessary and strategic foundations for a successful and profitable medical practice, that are kept in the shadow of ongoing neglect, but also are shamefully assigned to the least qualified individuals to manage... medical office staff personnel.
Additionally, when these individuals seek advice and direction from the top (That is you, my friend.) they will be consulting with a boss or owner who knows little more than the employee assigned to the job. Does the often quoted, “the blind leading the blind,” strike a nerve for you?
This is not to insult your intelligence, knowledge level, or belief system. It’s simply how it is in our medical profession as well as in other professions. Wouldn’t it be a miracle to discover that any medical doctor can escape from that invisible financial straitjacket anytime they choose? You can escape under you own power, by having someone advise you or teach you how to effectively interact with business and finances at the same time. Some call it business education.
The business of medical practice is not an entity you fiddle with and hope it runs well. It, contrary to common opinion, is a SYSTEM employed by individuals for the purpose of organization, efficiency, and profit. A SYSTEM enables measurements, provides evidence, and is measurable... a critical set of qualities that are every bit as scientific as medical care. It wasn’t thought of by medical doctors like that 50 years ago, but it is now by intuitive professionals.
Medical practice management is the business term for describing how a physician organizes a stable medical practice business for profitability, continual growth, productivity, functionally efficient, and easily adaptable for medical patient care and the patient volume and flow high enough to meet the expectations of the owner physician(s).
Medical practice business planning is an ongoing process of readjusting the focus of the medical practice business to the external political, governmental, societal, and economic circumstances that are constantly changing. Clovid Pandemics shut down medical practices and terrorize the hospitals. Weather becomes vicious with floods, tornados, and blizzards that keep medical patients away from physicians, therefore physicians don't make money.
Medical practice marketing both by the physicians and the office staff is the continual process of recruiting new medical patients in enough numbers to pay the office overhead, office salaries, and meet other obligations of the physicians--like their families. Business education provides the various tools, strategies, and knowledge of marketing for physicians as well as how to use the tools to magnify profits.
Marketing for physicians requires the kinds of marketing methods that are easily adaptable to the physicians' method of practice, objectives, and desires. They can be changed quickly or slowly, depending on the the purpose for the change. Physician's desires and objectives commonly change over their years in medical practice careers. Marketing has to remain malleable. For full success in medical practice, marketing must continue for the full length of their careers.
Any business person (like you) in today’s economy will create a system to follow, or the business will sooner or later fail primarily because of lousy efficiency and poor medical practice management. This is the time when your mindset can be adjusted and adapted to winning business strategies--when you become aware that your medical office income over the last few months has been barely enough to pay the office overhead.
Three keys to medical practice business success and maximum profits...
1. Implementation of business systems...
Every ultimately successful business creates a business system they can use to multiply profits, profoundly withstand the whims of the economy, and functions in an automatic manner. When you have no idea what a business system is, as 99% of physicians don't, you have only two choices... continue limping along in your practice or learn about business systems. It is quite evident that the majority of medical practices today are in the first category.
The evidence is supported by the widespread frustration within the physician population, the number of physicians moving their practices, the number of physicians changing careers, the decreasing numbers of practicing physicians, and the increasing problems recruiting American males from our own population, to name just a few of them.
My three other articles related to this issue are listed below...
Article #20, Title, "How A Business System Prevents YOu From
Being Incarcerated At The County Poor Farm"
Article #21, Title, "12 Essential Elements Of A Medical Practice
Marketing Program/Plan"
Article #81, Title, "Advertising---A Wart On Marketing's Finger"
2. Knowing current business strategies and principles...
Once the business foundation system is in place, you then must do something with it that makes your medical practice business system easily usable, reproducible, expandable, visible, self-propelling, and a magnetic attraction to your target market. If you have no business system, you have continuous chaos, which requires more time and attention, supervision, and repair work.
That process takes away from your time with patients, your earning potential, and, ultimately, removes the growth factor for your practice. Are you willing to settle for a second-rate
medical practice compared to a top rated one, that you have the potential for and don't realize
that fact?
3. Yardsticks for success, practice and career goals...
Repeatedly taking measurements of every aspect of your practice life blood should be a habit pattern in your career. Even the simplest tracking of the number of new patients entering your practice each month, is a very good place to start. At least then, when asked how your practice is going, you have a legitimate number to recite.
Having those facts and statistics burnt into your conscious mind is a constant stimulus for you to continue tracking everything, such as; net profits monthly, monthly growth of your patient population, monthly results of your practice marketing efforts in terms of new patients, monthly referrals coming in, monthly consultations you are asked to do, among others. It avoids
the usual guesswork.
If you don’t do measurements, you will never know where your business is going! And, physician, that is a formidable mistake you absolutely must avoid. That issue most commonly comes up when
you discover that new patients are far less than patients leaving your practice.
Summary...
Why do you think high school level business owners and managers outside of medical circles commonly make much more income than most physicians earn? It isn’t because they are more intelligent, have more training and education, and see the financial world differently.
It’s not because they know business secrets not available to you. It’s not because they spend more time in their business and have a better work ethic than you do. It’s not because they all have family money to use to make it easier and faster to earn money than you.
It is because they take the establishment of the proven and time-tested basic parameters for successful business deadly serious... and physicians don’t. Have you ever wondered why your office hasn't been tormented with dozens of business experts asking for appointments with the physician? They all know that physicians rarely have had a business education and physicians are the perfect sales target for them.
Business experts have all told me that business experts have given up on wasting time trying to contact or discuss what business knowledge can do for a physician's bottom line. Business experts all have the same reasons.
1. Medical doctors are unwilling to listen to business experts and
won't allow appointments with them.
2. Medical doctors that agree to meet with business experts listen but
rarely perform what the consultant recommends. Physicians don't
have the business background to understand what they are told,
or just don't believe their strategies work any better
than their own off-the-cuff strategies.
The arrogance of physicians keeps business experts out of touch, at least until their practice is already failing--and that's the time physicians have very little money to spend on business consults and repairs.
Physicians' minds are supposed to be open to new medical technology, improvements in medical treatments, new and improved procedures, and they are. Then, why aren’t physicians' minds open to the same aspects of doing business? The answer is simple. The medical educators neglected to furnish you with the knowledge and business tools you need to reach, maintain, and grow your medical practice financial stability under any and all economic circumstances. Ask yourself, why
would that be?
"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith
you are called." ---Ephesians 4:1
----Professional Probe----
"You see a large group of dogs, but do
you see the one that isn't a dog at all"
"In a sense, it's a good reminder of the one physician in 10,000
that has the discernment, courage, intention, persistence, and
intent to invest in a business education (includes marketing)
and adapt the principles of business to their
private medical practice."
Special Comment:
By familiarizing yourself with the medical practice business facts and advice contained in this private medical practice business and marketing website content, that is available to you in only one place in the world of medical practice in our nation today (2021-22), you can be sure that your private medical practice business will never fail you, when and if you choose to follow the advice.
Secondly, you will not only reach your ultimate potential faster and more assuredly than over 95% of other physicians, but also you will build a medical practice that can withstand all of the government mandates and restrictions on private medical practices that increasingly continue to harass you daily.
Articles © 2013-2022/CGG INVESTMENTS LLC. All rights reserved. #18 3-16-22
