Foster teamwork
Another important aspect of managing your practice is building a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among employees and other doctors. Sean Weiss, MD, a facial plastic surgeon in New Orleans, has a great team-building tip that he uses daily.
“I plan a daily morning huddle with my staff. During the huddle, we review the prior day’s performance, those patients that need following up on, and whether or not the prior day’s goals were met. We then review the patient list for the current day to identify patient needs. We look specifically for ways to improve efficiency and avoid slowing down the work flow. We also try to identify opportunities to cross-promote our offerings to increase awareness of our services. In about 10 minutes, the entire team becomes focused and ready for a productive day.”
For Lacey Elwyn, DO, making staff feel appreciated can be as simple as telling them thank you on a regular basis. “The success of a dermatology practice encompasses every staff member of the team,” Dr. Elwyn, a medical and cosmetic dermatologist in South Florida, said. “The physician should respect and value all staff members. Tell them when they are doing a great job and tell them that you appreciate them every day, but also let them know right away when something is wrong.”
Don’t forget about patient education
Janet Trowbridge, MD, PhD, who practices in Edmond, Wash., expressed a great point that not only do patients need to be educated about their medical or cosmetic concerns, but they also need to be educated about the way that health care works in general. “I would say that 50% of my time as a physician is spent educating patients not about their disease, but about how medicine works – or doesn’t work,” she said. “I am constantly amazed by how little the average person understands about how health care is delivered. I talk about copays, coinsurance, annual deductibles, and why their prescriptions are not being covered. Patients feel that the system has let them down.”