During these tough economic times, efficiency can be a significant time and money saver. But, have you ever asked yourself what are the keys to efficiency and what creates inefficiency; or what tools can you use to find inefficiency and become more efficient? This blog might help you along those lines.
Do you ever get to the end of the day and realize you didn't get the things done that you intended to get done? Do you find yourself giving endless streams of orders, and then having to spend time following up to make sure everything was really done? Or, do you often have to redo work because it was not done correctly by someone else? Is scheduling a problem?
Managing time in a health care practice is an art. Unique problems arise because, as the doctor, your main priority is treating patients. But how are you supposed to keep your full attention on patients and at the same time stay on top of the crucial administrative work that is paramount to maintaining a thriving practice? The essence of successful time management is the attainment of a level of organization which facilitates the goal of a health care practice: a high quantity of well and happy patients. Simply stated, how well you organize determines how many hours you work and how productive you are during those hours.
If you are having difficulty managing your time the first action you should take is to keep a time log during a typical work week. While this may seem arduous at first glance, you will find it well worth the time and energy you put into it. Carry a small notebook with you throughout the day and log every thing you do along with the amount of time you spend on each. This is best done by logging the events as they happen and avoid trying to reconstruct the information at a later point in time.
At the end of the week you will be able to look over the information and tabulate how much time was spent on the various activities you engaged in. This exact record will help you isolate areas of the practice that are not being competently handled by your employees and/or are problematic to the point of requiring much of your attention.
The second action you should take is to have each one of your employees keep their own time log, just as you did yours. At the end of the week you can gather the logs and review the activity of each staff member.
Thirdly, compare your personal log with those of your employees and evaluate the data you collected. Notice where you spent your time, and what the other people in the office were doing with their time. Some of the questions you should ask yourself are:
- Is much of your time being spent on a task that you have assigned to someone else?
- Do you have more than one person working on a particular project or job?
- Are you, or one of your staff, constantly covering for another employee?
- Do you experience continuous interruptions throughout the day? If so, is there one particular "offender"?
- Are you interrupted for the same type of issue time after time after time?
- Have you found yourself having to repeat instructions often?
- Does the log show you or your staff are unable to fully complete one task before moving on to another one?
- Does the office have a number of half-done projects that have been abandoned?
- How does the amount of time you spend with patients compare to the amount spent on administrative and/or management duties?
- Do you spend time finding out if your requests have been complied with?
- How much time did you spend solving problems for your employees?
Whether you are in a large or small practice, assigning specific duties to your staff members and training them so they can perform those duties competently is one of the keys to controlling your time and your income. Keeping time logs for a week is a simple way to document the information you will need to reorganize and streamline your office. Knowing what to look for, and why you should look for it, is critical to your evaluation and any subsequent changes you make.
However, if you do not have access to workable office communication procedures, systems for evaluating your employees' job performances, time-tested office policies, job descriptions or training formats for every position and formulas to help you determine how to manage your finances, you are going to be operating at a disadvantage. Your time log project may reveal troublesome areas, but solutions may not be so easily discovered or implemented. Learning proper management techniques for each of these areas will help you solve each of these specific problems. If you need help with any of these areas, feel free to email us with any questions.
We also invite your feedback to this blog or previous blogs by participating in our Discussion Forum at the Silkin Facebook Page BY CLICKING HERE.
Larry Silver
President, Silkin Management Group
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