3 Practice managers share solutions for common problems
Practice managers face so many challenges every day, from managing staff, schedules and reporting, to eliminating inefficiencies and reducing patient no-shows.
So what can be done to make practice management easier within a medical practice? We talk to three practice managers and find out how they solved these common practice management problems.
1. Managing and training new staff
To save time managing staff, practice managers need a user-friendly and reputable clinical management software solution, which staff can easily learn and use to better support patient needs.
When building a new medical practice of 30 doctors, 8 nurses, 8 receptionists, podiatrist and dietitian, Bondi Junction 7 Day Medical Centre wanted to not only a tried and tested solution, but also system that the wider healthcare community knew, trusted and could easily use. That’s why they chose MedicalDirector’s Clinical and Pracsoft solutions.
“I’ve trained new doctors, receptionists, and nursing staff on using MedicalDirector’s platforms when they first started and it’s quite easy for new staff to learn,” Practice Manager and Registered Nurse, Christina Dawson said. “Even staff with limited technical skills could pick up MedicalDirector’s programs very quickly and proficiently.”
As a registered nurse, Dawson said she’s used Clinical and Pracsoft both from a nursing perspective, and in her role as a Practice Manager of a busy medical centre, and one of the benefits she’s seen is both platforms are easy to use and follow.
“I would recommend MedicalDirector’s Clinical and Pracsoft solutions for their ease of use, it’s easy to train people, and the language used is familiar and easy to understand. There are no complex technical terms, just simple terms like ‘progress notes’. This makes using and understanding the program flow easy.”
2. Processing payments
A busy medical practice doesn’t have the time for inefficient payment systems, which is why the Family Doctor’s Operations Manager, Jennifer Surie, turned to an integrated system that was streamlined and easy for staff to learn and use.
Four years ago, the Family Doctor started using Tyro EFTPOS machines, which can be integrated with their MedicalDirector clinical and practice management software, and have since enjoyed a more reliable payment and clinical management system.
“We really like how MedicalDirector’s software and Tyro integrate seamlessly,” Surie said. “They work well together and are both very stable, fast and easy to use. Features like online reporting, the ease of setup and ongoing support make our clinics more efficient as we continue to grow. We’ve even had patients comment on how streamlined our payment and patient experience is for them.”
3. Operational efficiency
Practice managers are under daily pressure to be accountable, and the pressure mounts even more when things go wrong. This can be aggravated further by having a fragmented clinical and practice management system.
One practice who solved this problem was South Australian-based practice South Road Day & Night Surgery, which has been operating for over thirty years. Once a very large and busy practice, but now a small, boutique surgery, the South Road Day & Night Surgery staffs three doctors, who see about 500 patients a week.
When the practice first started, Practice Manager Di Schultz said everyone was using two separate clinical and practice management systems. However, the surgery wanted to look for a more seamless, alternate solution. In particular, the practice needed a clinical management solution that integrated effortlessly with practice management software.
“In the very early days…we had separate clinical and practice management systems, which was a challenge because nobody takes responsibility when things go wrong,” she said. “That’s why we turned to MedicalDirector to find a better solution.”
South Road Day & Night Surgery switched from a competing product to MedicalDirector’s integrated Clinical and Pracsoft solution in March 2002, and has never looked back.
“Switching to MedicalDirector and using it since 2002 has been a fantastic decision for us,” Di said. “I can’t speak highly enough of MedicalDirector and its software solutions, and I tell everyone they should have it. Clinical and Pracsoft integrate so seamlessly and fit together like a hand in a glove. The systems just flow so beautifully.”
