Background:
To run a clinic effectively requires you to have complete knowledge of your profession. However, to run your clinic successfully, there are other needs required as well. Given below is a list of steps, which you need to take to ensure you are an effective clinic manager.
1. Be Prudent while hiring:
While hiring new staff, you really need to ask yourself this question? Do I really need this hiring? Will this new person really add value to my clinic? Can some existing staff not do this job equally well? If your answer to most of the questions is yes, then only go ahead with hiring. Managing a lean and mean team is always easier than a big team, which is not performing.
2. Train your staff:
Before a patient comes to you, he/she comes in contact with one of your staff. And creating a good patient experience starts from the first interaction itself. Hence, it is important to train your staff, both on the soft skills as well as giving them training related to their job. Though some people feel this as unnecessary, and a waste of time and money, but research has proved that training the staff has several benefits. First, it not only boosts the morale of your team, and creates loyalty, it also reflects the way they work to take care of your patients. This ultimately has a very positive result on the reputation of your clinic.
3. Track and Observe:
As a clinic manager, your main job is to ensure that all things run smoothly. There is never any kind of ‘stock-out' for any product. To ensure that, it is very important to keep a track of all important consumable items like vaccines, etc. While tracking the products, you need to specifically observe the consumption pattern, a basis on which you can plan to maintain your inventory.
4. Delegate your job:
One person cannot do all the jobs and all the time. Hence, it becomes important to create a system, where another person is able to do the job with the same efficacy, is the first person is not available. So, as a manager, you need to delegate certain jobs to others and monitor how they perform. This gives them the confidence to handle tricky situations and lessens your workload. You get a lot of spare time, which you can use to grow your business.
5. Create a process document:
Once you have trained your staff on the job, you may also be required to ‘get your hands dirty’ and giving them a demo, how to do the job. Once you have given them theoretical training, and a practical demo about various things, you can leave it to them. Now, to ensure the staff does not look up to you for every small thing, the best would be to create a process chart for every activity and display it prominently. This is because; you do not want to keep repeating the same thing over and again. To avoid that, you may create a well-written set of instructions, with clear do’s and don’ts which can be followed by every member of the staff. This will ensure that work does not suffer, even when you are not around. Creating a process document may take some time, but it pays in the long run.
6. Automate your Clinic through technology:
In this age of technology, trying to manage everything manually is nothing short of a foolish idea. The use of clinic management software, like Docterz, helps you manage various operations of your clinic in a very smooth manner. It allows you to safely store your patients’ data, book appointments, and also keep a record of appointments along with their outcomes. Docterz app also offers facilities for invoicing, managing inventory and staying in touch with patients through appropriate marketing campaigns. It would also improve the reliability and accuracy of your finances and other data. In short, it would work as a personal assistant to reduce your workload and decrease your stress levels.
Conclusion:
In this age of intense competition, to run a clinic effectively and successfully, you need more than just medical knowledge. While medical expertise remains your core requirement, you need to focus on other aspects also to become an effective clinic manager. This includes training your staff and delegating some jobs to them. This not only improves their confidence but reduces your workload. You also need to create a process document to ensure work happens the same way, even if you are not around. The last, but the most critical thing is to make use of technology to run the clinic. With Clinic Management Software, like Docterz, you can manage your clinic more smoothly and in an effective manner.