Is Your Practice Surviving or Thriving?

I have spent time during the first quarter of the year discussing the importance of a leaders’ actions in building a stronger practice and quality of life including the importance of communication and compassion.

Managing through the challenges of 2020 was no small feat and you are to be congratulated for making it through but as you continue into 2021, it is time to determine if your practice is surviving or thriving.

Many practices were struggling before the pandemic and some did not make it to see 2021. Early reports indicated that more than 15,000 practices closed in U.S. and this was within the first few months of the pandemic. Now that your practice has made it through the most challenging global event of our lifetime, its time to consider how to make your practice thrive, not just survive.

A thriving practice is possible when the practice infrastructure is designed to support patient and employee satisfaction.

Building a strong infrastructure begins with the identification of your values and goals. Values provide a compass for your staff to make decisions and ensure that daily decisions align with your vision for your practice. While values can be selected from a list, I also help my clients determine their values through staff interviews. A practice staff has firsthand knowledge of a leader’s behaviors and actions which are a good source when defining practice values. Values that a leader lives ensures credibility and that your practice values are not just words on a piece of paper.

When values are identified we can connect each employee’s role with practice values providing clarity between their responsibilities and practice values.

A common practice value is that the patient always come first. This sounds pragmatic for most medical professionals however, living it requires consistent actions by all staff members. Being compassionate and responsive to patients calls, emails, texts, etc. requires diligence by every staff member. This includes practice leaders modeling the behaviors that they expect and supporting their staff so they can support patients.

In addition to values, a solid practice infrastructure must have goals. Practice goals ensures that your staff has clarity of expectations and drives accountability. From new patients to procedures, it is critical for your staff to have goals that connect your revenue drivers to their daily responsibilities.

Values and goals are the foundational components of a solid practice infrastructure, so if you are ready for your practice to thrive, start with these two components. And if you would like support to move your practice from surviving to thriving, please contact me at smays@impactpracticeconsultants.com.