Running a medical practice is a balancing act between ensuring that you are providing the best possible care, but also managing a profitable and forward-thinking business. It is common for practice managers to spend their time focusing on the day-to-day care and their patients (rightly so), but this can mean that they are missing opportunities to save money. This money could then be reinvested to improve patient care even further. Luckily, there are plenty of simple techniques and strategies that can make a big difference to your profitability without negatively impacting the quality of your provision. Here are 5 ways to boost revenue in your medical practice.
1. Build your brand
Why should more people visit your practice than your competitors? The key to standing out is to recognize what makes your practice unique and to build a brand identity around that. What is your ethos, mission, and personality? Do your staff understand what your team is driving towards? Work out what makes you different, and make sure that your staff and patients see that in the culture and atmosphere. From your marketing to the way your waiting room is decorated, your practice should be able to be instantly differentiated at a glance.
2. Invest in staff training
Your staff is your frontline when it comes to customer care, so be sure to invest significantly in staff training. From the moment patients enter your practice, they should be made to feel welcome and at ease, and, of course, that they are receiving professional and expert care. Click here for some tips on front desk customer service.
3. Encourage and reward referrals
The happier your patients are with their care, the more likely they will be to recommend your practice to friends and family, increasing your patient numbers. However, sometimes patients need some encouragement to sing your praises. They have busy lives and may not realize the impact their positive testimonial could have on your practice’s prospects. Consider being more proactive about requesting ratings and testimonials from your patients. You could send them email links to a review website or include review cards in their letters or medication deliveries.
4. Build relationships with your patients
To build a practice that is successful, both now and in the future, you should be building more meaningful relationships with the patients you have, not just trying to bring new patients in This can take time to establish but with regular communication, transparency, and a tailored approach to your patient care you can create loyal ambassadors. This, in turn, can lead to more recommendations and referrals.
Consider being more active on social media, sending out regular communication, and inviting feedback. Also, automating your Annual Wellness Visits process through Annual Wellness Visit software can help to ensure that your patients return to you again and again so you can assess all areas of their health, leading to a regular income stream and deeper relationships.
5. Increase the range of services that you offer
It makes sense that the more types of procedures and services that you can offer your patients, the fewer patients you will need to attract to your practice for each of those services. If you find that you are often having to refer patients to other practices because you cannot perform certain procedures, it is time to consider diversifying. Make your practice a busier place where patients can come for a wide variety of treatments.
