In today’s evolving healthcare landscape, medical practices face a number of challenges. With budget constraints, a surge in demand for services post-pandemic, and the rapid increase in virtual care options, it’s imperative for medical practices to adapt so that they can survive and thrive in this changing environment.
This is the first in a series of articles, where we will explore how medical practices can grow total revenues, improve patient retention, build brand equity, and increase operational efficiency in the face of these challenges.
Embrace Technology and Virtual Care
Virtual care has revolutionized the way medical practices reach and serve their patients. By investing in telehealth and remote monitoring technologies medical practices can:
- Serve a broader audience and grow revenues
- Reduce overhead expenses
- Improve patient access
- Efficiently manage increased demand
Additionally, virtual care can enhance patient engagement and satisfaction. Patients appreciate the convenience of remote consultations as it reduces the need for travel and makes it easier to get care. Successful medical practices use this technology not only for initial consultations, but also for ongoing patient education, remote monitoring of chronic conditions, and follow-up appointments.
We have successfully launched telehealth programs for several regional orthopedic and ophthalmology practices in under 90 days generating on average over 200 telehealth visits a month, equivalent to more than 25% of their patient care visits. Overall, we are finding that more than 70% of the physicians in the practices we work with use telehealth, with virtual care now accounting for 25 to 35% of total patient visits.
Optimize Operational Efficiency
To manage tight budgets effectively, medical practices must streamline their operations. This involves assessing all aspects of the practice to identify areas where efficiency can be improved. Strategies to consider:
- Digital Records and Management: If you haven’t transitioned to electronic health records (EHRs), your practice needs to. EHR’s save staff time and resources while making it easier to access patient data, reduce paperwork, and streamline administrative tasks. Estimating the savings for a medical practice through an EHR varies widely based on the practice size, specialty and system being used. HealthIT.gov is a good place to start – it provides more information and data on the potential benefits of adopting electronic health records.
- Outsource Non-Clinical Tasks: consider outsourcing billing, coding, and administrative tasks to specialized service providers. This can free up staff time and reduce errors in billing, ultimately improving revenue collection.
- Hybrid Staffing Model: allow administrative staff to work remotely. This can reduce office space requirements and the associated overhead costs, while improving staff morale and efficiency.
- Patient Scheduling Optimization: use real-time online appointment scheduling software to minimize downtime between appointments and maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your staff.
Place the Patient in the Center of the Scheduling Process
We recently completed a survey of close to 100 medical practices, measuring the availability of real-time online appointments and found that only 30% of those practices offered online appointment options. Most practices that offered that option used a general form fill (80%) and an automated email response back indicating someone would reach out by phone which most times did not occur within 48 hours of submitting the form, if at all, leading to lost new patient opportunities.
As a follow-up and in only six months, we implemented an automated, enterprise-wide online scheduling system with 65 medical groups which helped patients schedule appointments in real-time, while also connecting digitally with each practice’s EHR. We supplemented the digital appointments with an automated text messaging patient reminder which enhanced kept appointments, and patient satisfaction.
The Return on Investment
Prior to a new solution, the medical groups scheduled 2500 online appointments in over six months, using a form fill, first-generation approach, while kept appointment rates were approximately 70%.
After implementing the new scheduling experience, the medical groups scheduled over 5800 online appointments over a comparable six-month period, the kept appointment rate increased to over 90% and generated $900,000 in gross patient revenue, capturing a 5:1 return on investment.
Increase Revenue Streams
To offset the challenges of tight budgets, medical practices should explore new revenue streams. Some possibilities include:
- Diversify Services: expand the range of services your practice offers to attract a broader patient base by adding specialized services that are in high demand. For example, we’ve worked with Orthopedic Groups that have added on-site imaging services, physical therapy, sports medicine and pain management programs as well as urgent care leading to increased market share and profitable revenue growth. Similarly, Dermatology Practices have added cosmetic services such as Botox, laser skin resurfacing and hair removal, and allergy testing to better meet market needs and grow revenue.
- Wellness Programs: offer wellness and preventive care programs to attract patients interested in maintaining their health.
- Expanded Hours: extend your office hours or offer weekend appointments to accommodate patient schedules.
- Healthcare Partnerships: collaborate with other healthcare providers, youth sports teams, businesses, schools, universities and non-profit organizations in participating or sponsoring health education programs, health events, screenings, and general health awareness campaigns. We have worked with many practices in managing these partnerships and have found that they are crucial in creating a bond with the community, which leads to enhanced brand awareness, improved staff morale, civic spirit and new patient acquisitions.
Medical practices can grow and thrive even in today’s challenging environment of tight budgets and increasing demand by embracing technology, integrating virtual care, optimizing operations, diversifying revenue streams, focusing on patient satisfaction and prioritizing patient-centered care.
Mike Slusarz is a seasoned healthcare marketing professional with 30+ years expertise in brand management, strategic planning, digital marketing, physician relations and corporate communications. As former VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Barnabas Health for 25+ years, leading the marketing operations for seven acute care hospitals, three cardiac surgery centers, four of NJ’s largest teaching hospitals and over 700 medical practices.
Mike’s leadership spans Cape Regional Health System, PRISM Vision Group, and the Marathon Group, his award-winning agency. A former President of the Health Care Planning & Marketing Society of New Jersey, he also teaches at Temple University.
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