Medical practices, regardless of their size and specialty, encompass multiple aspects, one of which is practice management. It refers to the administrative responsibilities of daily operations and development of business strategies. Currently there are over 33,000 practice managers in the United States. The professions can be extremely challenging, as well as rewarding and with great growth potential within the industry. If you are interested in pursuing practice management, this article will give you an overview of the key tool you must have. Read along to find out.
Defining Practice Management
Practice management encompasses the business side of medical practices. This means supervising the following processes:
- Regulatory Compliance
- Marketing
- Finances; billing
- Information technology
- Staff management
- Managing the patient recall process
A medical practice manager must both have outstanding management skills and insight into the healthcare industry.
The Top 5 Skills to Succeed in Practice Management
It takes highly specialized people to fulfill this role, therefore the skills detailed below are a must for anyone thinking of venturing into this realm.
The top 5 skills are:
- Organizational Skills
- Compliance Insight
- A Knack for Finances
- Be Tech-Savvy
- Good Communication and Negotiation Skills
➡ Related: Physician Practice Operations: Behind the Scenes
Practice Management Requires Good Organizational Skills
A medical practice is a complex organization that involves multiple processes. Since the practice manager is responsible for overseeing all operations and ensuring that they run smoothly, they need to have excellent organizational skills to stay abreast of everything. As a brief summary, here are some of the most important organizational aspects to consider as a practice manager:
- Prioritization
- A cool head
- Collaboration & teamwork
- Active listening
- Planning
- Resource allocation
- Time management
Compliance Insight
Every day, healthcare providers must comply with increasing healthcare regulations. This involves more than 600 regulatory requirements. And these compliance laws encompass numerous occupational sectors, from pharmacies and insurance companies to cloud service providers. In order to effectively run operations at the practice, no matter its scale, the practice manager must stay up-to-date with the latest regulatory modifications. A slip in compliance can be incredibly costly in a multitude of ways.
A Knack for Finances
Financial literacy is a must for practice management. Although there are softwares that help organize finances, they are not helpful without the proper human interpretation. Wellness in terms of finance is key to a thriving medical organization; which is why those who oversee operations must be knowledgeable in terms of revenue cycle management.
Be Tech-Savvy
As we have mentioned above, softwares are extremely helpful… in the hands of competent people. Practice Management Systems, or PMS, are softwares that helps healthcare practices with administrative tasks like billing. They are useful also for scheduling appointments, tracking patient records, and processing insurance claims. They are an invaluable asset in the hands of a tech-savvy practice manager.
Good Communication and Negotiation Skills
Finally, practice management involves coordinating multiple roles both within the organization and with external suppliers. Therefore, the practice manager must maintain clear communication with all the parties. This not only ensures a healthy working environment, but also helps to maximize reimbursement and reduce costs when it comes to negotiating contracts with payers and suppliers.
Peregrine Healthcare: Efficient Physician Practice Management
Peregrine Healthcare helps healthcare facilities and professionals provide the best quality services and find the perfect work-life balance. From helping implement the perfect EHR system to providing top-notch RCM, we underpin practice management strategies to ensure seamless operations. Peregrine Healthcare knows first-hand how much everybody’s time is worth and we foster healthy practices, aid growth and drive patient satisfaction.
Contact us for more information about our services and how we can tailor them to your needs.
