Author: Dana Jacoby
If your practice has grown in the last few years, you are not alone. The last few years, for better or worse, have meant unprecedented growth for plenty of medical practices across specializations. How can you be sure your practice is ready to expand even further? With decades of physician practice consulting, Vector Medical Group is here to help you and your practice grow in a scalable way that won’t break the bank or burn out your staff.
Related: Signs Your Practice Needs Physician Leadership Training
Here are Vector Medical Group’s top five tips when it comes to growing your physician practice in 2022.
1. Expand Outpatient Opportunities
In order for your practice to grow, you should consider the ways in which your services are able to expand as well. Building out your practice’s range of services is helpful for growth because you’ll be able to attract new patients. Outpatient opportunities are particularly well-suited for growth since these are merely an expansion of existing services and do not require as much research into state rules and regulations as, say, adding ancillary services would.
2. Utilize Telehealth When Virtual and Remote Care Is Viable
A great way to scale your practice without overburdening your staff is to turn to telehealth options like taking patient appointments over video conferencing software when possible, such as for first visits with new patients, or for routine screenings which do not require lab work or in-person assessments. Telehealth became popular out of necessity during the COVID-19 lockdown, but even now, some patients prefer virtual appointments for routine care over in-person visits. Forbes and other healthcare industry leaders project that telehealth will remain a vital part of most practices through 2022 and beyond, so setting your practice up to take on more telehealth visits will help your practice grow.
3. Start Tracking Data Analytics, and Let Them Guide You
Another way to grow your practice in a smart and sustainable way is to monitor the data analytics of your practice. Essentially, data analytics track what your practice does well, what you can improve on, and where your practice’s existing problem areas fall. Tracking these data for your practice and analyzing them with a critical eye can, in essence, teach you how to grow your physician practice. Data analytics are very important for long-term strategic planning, for reporting to investors, and for monitoring your own wins. If you aren’t sure how to implement a data analytics program for your practice, book a consultation with us and one of our physician practice management consultants can help you harness this crucial information.
4. Recruit and Retain New Providers
How well your practice handles growth ultimately comes down to the people you hire. If your physicians or practice leadership do not have the capacity to sustain further growth, you should be prepared and able to recruit quality new hires who can support your existing staff. Before you start the recruiting process, take the time to educate yourself on what factors keep quality staff engaged and interested in working for any practice. If, as part of your practice’s growth plan, you plan to phase out some of your physician leadership staff, you should also look into succession planning for your practice. In other words, you should have a plan for how those high-level transitions will take place. Vector Medical Group can help you make a successful succession plan for your practice, should you need guidance.
5. Accelerated Change Models
Building out an accelerated change model for your practice is a great way to ensure that you and your staff will be prepared for rapid and iterative change across all departments and on all levels. While implementing an accelerated change model for your practice might seem complicated, our physician practice consultants have decades of experience planning these models and can help you make the most of your practice’s opportunities for growth.
Whatever your practice’s growth needs are, Vector Medical Group can offer you expert, friendly physician practice consulting that is personalized and strategic. Take our 8 minute survey today to learn how Vector Medical Group can help your practice scale this year.