Friday, Jan 07, 2011

The Annual Practice Check-Up

By Cheryl Langley, D.C.

Friday, Jan 07, 2011 03:07

A long time ago, a mentor of mine taught me the importance of setting goals and keeping statistics in my practice. He also introduced me to a wonderful motivator, Zig Ziglar. To this day I am reminded of what Ziglar said about setting goals and keeping stats. "A business without measures or goals is like a ship at sea without a rudder. You'll eventually get somewhere, but it probably won't be where you wanted to end up." Just like your patients, you business needs a personalized check-up and progress report at certain intervals in your practice life. This Year-End Practice Check-up is an exercise that can and should be done annually. Some may decide to implement this practice check-up at the end of each year, however, it can be done at any time during your practice life. If it's the middle of the year when you read this and you recognize it needs to be done now, don't wait! Start the process immediately. Once you begin doing this annually, you will develop more CLARITY, DIRECTION, AND CONFIDENCE in your ability to develop and grow the practice of your DREAMS! Plan on setting aside at least a few quiet hours. Gather the information necessary to be able to review your current position and set goals for future growth. 1. Review your STATS for the Year. January 1st to present. If you are saying "what are Stats?" we need to get you up to speed. There is no way for you to tell if you are on the right path to getting to where you want to go if you don't have a measuring stick. Keeping statistics in your practice is your measuring stick. Here are the things you want to keep a numerical statistic on: PV = Patient Visits NP = New Patients PVA = Patient Visit Average  (divide the number of new patients into the number of visits over a 6 or 12 month period) Monthly Services = amt. billed/charged for services in a month (self-pay and insurance) Monthly Collections = amt. collected for billed services (self-pay and insurance) CAPs = Corrective Adjustment Plans or Starts (NP's who accepted a care plan and are continuing on it) WAPs = Wellness Adjustment Plans 2. Set your GOALS for the next year / 12 months. Schedule some quiet, private time with YOURSELF and make a list of what you want to accomplish next year. Start by thinking about everything you want to BE, DO, and/or HAVE. There will be some personal things on there, as well as what you want for your business/practice. Here are some items to think about when you are making your projections for next year: Office Space: Adequate? Need more SF? Better location? Need new paint, carpet, posters, plants, furnishings, new equipment? My team: evaluations due? Need more help? Need to let anyone go? Do certain team members need additional training in certain area? Do I want to shift up their duties? Stats / Growth: Volume goals, NP goals, PVA goals, Collections goals Marketing: What type do I want to do next year? Internet, screenings, speaking engagements, workshops, internal and external campaigns, business networking, community involvement, etc. Strengths / Weaknesses: List what areas you are strong in. Recognize it with your team, it's important. Then list what areas you are weak in; you may be strong in generating New Patients, but weak in Retention. Rate yourself in the areas of communication, building value for care, transitioning patients from corrective care to wellness care, efficiency of systems, marketing, etc. These are the areas that you will want to focus in on to strengthen next year. A good indicator of your strengths/weaknesses is your stat sheet. Time: Purchase a calendar. I like the big dry-erase type. Talk to your family and make a point to put vacation time on the schedule. First cross off all of the holidays that your office will be closed. Then put in your vacation time. 3 Full weeks (not in a row) along with several 3 to 4 day weekends throughout the year I find is plenty, but you do what works for you. Once you've got that done, now plan your marketing calendar for each month. Have something happening every month. OK, now don't have a coniption, plan 3 or 4 BIG marketing events through the year. Look at what really worked well last year and do it again. Making certain events an annual thing builds credibility with your community and patients and they come to look forward to it. Once you've done that, fill in the rest of the months with screenings and internal promotions. An ideal marketing calendar might have 1 external event and 1 internal event each month. Keep in mind that the spring/summer/fall months will probably have more external screening opportunities than in the winter. OK, I think that covers most of it. I am looking forward to hearing from you and helping you reach your practice goals!  ALWAYS SEE YOUR FUTURE BIGGER THAN YOUR PAST

Permalink   Digg this   Add to del.icio.us   Submit to Reddit