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A + A + A Equals a Successful Practice

Recently, after experiencing a tedious and unsuccessful morning providing education to Bay Area physicians, I was rewarded with an “Aha” moment. When asked about what motivated him to refer his patients to other practitioners, a physician surprised me by saying:  “Availability, affability and ability. For me, it’s that simple.” End of discussion. In three words, he had summed up the enormity of what it takes to create a successful and thriving medical practice. Availability. Affability. Ability.

 

While philosophically sound, the devil, of course, is in the details.

 

Availability is an inclusive principle. Lack of availability can be a prime motivating factor when physicians make choices on where to refer patients. Ability and affability are not even tested traits if a patient can not make an appointment with your practice. Increasing your availability as a physician is a daunting task, particularly as patient loads become greater and greater. Some suggestions:

 

Keep your schedule open for a half-hour in both the morning and the afternoon, and do not open these exam times to patients until the morning of the same day. This will allow you to accommodate patients that you might not otherwise be able to see and, more importantly, develop an identity as a physician who will see patients the same day.

 

Take time to examine your payer contracts to determine which of them truly provide health care access for the patients that are geographically most likely to visit your practice. Favor those payers which provide both good reimbursements and patient populations, but don’t cast aside the low reimbursement organizations. When managed properly, they will provide access to other, better payer populations.

 

Be on time. As apparent as this appears, it bears repeating. Get to the office on time. If you arrive at 9:15 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. patient, you have effectively reduced your availability.

 

Plan to increase your availability. Look at previous and future schedules to analyze your availability and make adjustments where necessary. Failing to plan is a plan to fail.

 

Affability is defined as, “Easy and pleasant to speak to; approachable.” The argument is frequently made that this particular quality can only be engineered by Mother Nature. While, this may be true, like many personal characteristics, improvements can be made through practice and diligence.

 

The greater and most often over-looked aspect of this practice feature is the affability of the individual members of the physician practice staff. Lack of friendliness is probably the most frequent complaint that I hear in regards to Bay Area physician practices. This can be a tremendously influential issue when patients and physician practices are determining healthcare choices. Interestingly, it can be the simplest area for your practice to create a positive and lasting impact. How?

 

First, set the stage. Devise and implement, in writing, service standards that incorporate language identifying “friendliness” as a key component of your team’s job description. Consistently communicate the importance of this behavior. It’s great to have the “Affability” philosophy as a prime tenet in your practice values, but this program must be consistently developed. Reward those who maintain these standards consistently. The reward can be simple, but should be consistent.

 

Most importantly, lead by example. Many studies clearly illustrate that consistently positive individuals elevate the positivity, so to speak, of those around them. Intuitively, we all know and feel this. So, check any attitude or frustration you may possess at the door and you will have traveled a great distance to increasing the “Affability” of your team.

 

Ability exists in many shapes and sizes. In the medical profession, there are great surgeons, pediatricians and cardiologists. The cream does indeed rise to the top, but where do they acquire their lift? In the book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell effectively and dramatically illustrates that the “Best of the Best” arrive there through one effective strategy: practice. Throughout his book he consistently establishes 10,000 hours of practice as the special number in which an individual can perfect his craft. Sounds daunting, yet there exist some fairly easy methods to enhance your skills.

 

Foremost, is the importance of consistently establishing scheduled time in which to engage in the pursuit of continuing education. Set aside time every week to advance your craft, whether through CME or personal pursuit.  Once more, failing to plan is a plan to fail. Sit down at the beginning of each year and develop a strategy for improving your ability.

 

Additionally, select CME and other coursework that will specifically improve your skill set and ability to deliver patient care within your particular specialty. All too often, the rush to complete required CME results in CME participation that is unrelated to a physician’s specialty. Plan ahead. Take time to ascertain which continuing medical education will enhance your patient results. Most importantly, go above and beyond. Every physician governing body has CME requirements. Don’t stop there. Endeavor to excel at advancing your skill set well beyond standard expectations.

 

One final word, be sure to communicate your availability, affability and ability to patients and other health care providers. This is simple and can take many forms. Develop a brief quarterly newsletter detailing your practice attributes and have it sent to all surrounding physician practices. Work with a respected web development organization that specializes in health care to put forth an effective and illustrative web presence for your practice.  Above all, network with your peers and discuss medicine whenever possible.

 

Incorporating these ideas into your medical practice can add tremendous value to the service and patient care that you provide.  

 

 

Herb Repp, owner of Vision United Associates, has been helping physician practices grow their patient base since 1998. Special thanks to the ‘Affable’ Dr. S.

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