GET ON TRACK
"The stability of the structure is directly related to the security of the foundation." Blake Higginbotham
We believe in foundation. In Pediatric practice, the foundation is the revenue goal.
If your practice is struggling, the good news is that your situation can be entirely different with some deliberate direction and some help.
Is the issue financial or operational?
Financial: there's an imbalance in volume as it relates to ratio compensation-per-patient.
Operational: there's lack of performance management.
If financial, we determine what is causing the cash flow issue. Cutting costs can be good, but developing a benchmark for revenue is much more valuable.
If operational, it's a bit more nuanced. However, we first determine what issues you're having by asking questions and getting a feel of what's going right and what's going wrong. It can be issues with staff, technology, supplies, real estate, scheduling, billing, and so on. More than likely the issue can be resolved with performance management. In other words, determining the current quantifiable measure, benchmarking an ideal one, and then tracking it.
Reverse Engineering
How much volume are doing on average per month? If you're unsure, it's not uncommon. Many solo practitioners are unaware of how they're performing operationally. After all, what's the point if the number doesn't mean anything?
How much are you compensated per patient on average per month? Again, it's common to not know.
Let's zoom out: how much revenue do you need to make to pay yourself the amount you'd like, to cover the bills, and to have a company profit that you'd like? This is a big question. And it's the most fundamental.
We begin here. Everything thereafter is done in its name.
Starting from the top
So, what's this number? With some shallow digging, we can determine it pretty quickly. Well, start with what salary you would like. Whatever that number is (here in Dallas the average Ped makes $22,000/mo), we build that into our revenue model. Then it's simply a matter of determining what kind of performance is needed daily, and managing it until reached.
Many solo practitioners are sacked with the task of not only seeing patients all day, but also doing everything from doing taxes to cleaning the refrigerator in the break-room. What issues are you having? Perhaps you like management, but are pressed for time--or perhaps you're good at management, but don't enjoy it!
Like everything we do at Benignus, we begin with what's ideal and work backwards. So, what is an ideal management situation in your practice? Is your style hands-on or hands-off? Read more in the link to see how we take care of management.
