Like a lot of practices, you may be looking at adding physicians or services to make your practice a bigger, better, one-stop shop for your patients. But as a recent article from American Medical News reminds, it's important not to overlook these details related to expansion:
1. Space accommodations
If you add physicians or bring more patients to your office, don't forget to make sure you have enough space. It's not just about adding chairs to the waiting room, but ensuring ample parking and restrooms as well. These are common and expensive oversights to fix after the fact, according to amednews.
2. Spreading the word
The adage, "If you build it, they will come" doesn't necessarily hold true when medical groups expand. To make sure traffic builds as expected, announce your growth via local media, area health institutions and with waiting-room signs, Doug Graham, senior management consultant at DoctorsManagement, told amednews.
If you are a specialty practice, pay special attention to reaching out to referrers. Strategies to spread the word include inviting potential referrers to attend a seminar at your practice or send a letter introducing your new and improved office to new and existing referral sources, according to a recent post from Physicians Practice.
3. IT expansion
Electronic health record licenses are often issued from vendors in batches of five, amednews noted, which makes updates easy to forget until after a practice surpasses that threshold. Planning ahead is critical to keep such details from falling through the cracks.
To learn more:
- read the article from American Medical News
- see the post from Physicians Practice