How to Focus More on Patient Care

How to Focus More on Patient Care

For today’s private practices, the need to focus on patient care is growing, yet it often seems like the resources to make that possible are shrinking. Fortunately, that’s not the case and healthcare professionals will find that if they do a little bit of research, they can find several tools and resources to help them provide a more patient-focused service.  

Some providers find it difficult to make the transition to private practice because they’re not great at delegating work or finding a better way to get things done. They want to be focused on patient care 24/7, but they also know that they have all this other work waiting for them at the end of the day. It can quickly become overwhelming and exhausting. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources out there to help doctors of all kinds develop a better patient focus. Not surprisingly, many of them suggest the same thing: automation and technology integration (where applicable) to take all the tedious work off your plate and free up your attention. 

Running Your Practice vs. Practicing Medicine 

The biggest hurdle for many doctors who transition to private practice is overcoming the day-to-day running of the practice. There are a lot of tasks that need attention. There are plenty of to-dos and things that need to be checked. From watering the plants to making sure that the patient rooms are ready, the daily grind quickly gets in the way of patient focus a lot of the time. 

And then you add in all the paperwork, insurance and billing details, documentation and charting, and other details that need your attention, and it’s easy to see how quickly even the best providers can get overwhelmed and lose their focus on the patient, even if only for a moment. The good news is that with the right tools (and the willingness to improve), you can deliver a better patient experience and improve your ability to truly help people, which is why you got into the field in the first place, after all. 

What Does Patient-Focused Mean?

If you want to run a patient-focused practice, you may have your own ideas of what that entails. In general, however, a patient-focused practice focuses on patient education and concerns, satisfaction, and providing patient support throughout all phases of care and treatment. A simple Internet search will reveal dozens of strategies and areas of focus to improve patient care, ranging from things like collecting and analyzing patient data to improving patient access and even simple things like being respectful and expressing gratitude for your patients’ repeat business over the years. 

Interestingly, improving the focus on your patients usually means improving your patience and being mindful about being present with each person that comes to your practice. If you’re worried about paperwork, scheduling, or other administrative headaches, you’re not going to be able to do that. That’s why you need to find a better way to manage all the administrative details and paperwork involved in running a practice—once that’s under control, you’ll feel better about giving your patients 100% of your attention without any nagging interruptions.  

What About Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is one way that some private practices find support for administrative tasks and other elements that keep them from focusing on the patients. There are services available to help with everything from scheduling to follow-up and even setting up a nurse line so that when patients call, they can talk to someone knowledgeable even if you aren’t available. You can even set it up so that people can call after hours or on holidays and still get in touch with someone. 

You can find tools and companies to outsource everything in your private practice, from insurance and billing to new patient intake and scheduling, and even the cleaning of the building at the end of the day. What matters is taking the time to come up with a plan that includes outsourcing to the right services so that you can proceed to the next step: automating and delegating what you can.  

Automate and Delegate

As a practice owner and provider, it is now your responsibility to delegate work and come up with a successful strategy for day-to-day operations. This could include any number of technology tools and resources, as well as the growing selection of automation tools that can streamline your practice management and make it easy for you to run things without actually having to do a lot of “running” or overseeing the day-to-day tasks. 

When it comes to delegating the management of your practice, you should not only consider hiring a practice manager but also enlisting the assistance of a dedicated practice management platform. That way, you will be able to integrate everything digitally and streamline operations in ways that will free up plenty of time for you to focus on patient care and deliver a better patient experience. 

How Can ClinicMind Software Help?

ClinicMind is a dedicated platform with a host of practice management solutions that can help any private practice run more smoothly and efficiently. The EHR/RCM system makes it easy to integrate charting, scheduling, and billing in the cloud, delivering a level of scalability and efficiency that are unmatched. This translates into exceptional patient care, which is exactly what you’re trying to achieve. 

ClinicMind also has billing services, consultations, and credentialing services. They can assist with all aspects of private practice operations so that you can get back to giving your patients the attention that they deserve. 

Conclusion

When you’re trying to put your focus back on the patients, you need to utilize all the resources that are available to you, including a robust practice management platform that can automate and integrate billing and scheduling, charting, and other features with billing, patient information, and other aspects of your practice. When you have a reliable practice management platform in place and someone to make sure that it’s running smoothly, you’ll be better able to dedicate your time and attention to your patients, which is the reason you chose private practice in the first place. Contact ClinicMind to get started.