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After practicing for a few years, we tend to get into a rut.
This is why it’s a good idea to step back and critically
appraise your practice every year . You can use the following
criteria in order to do so objectively. If you can request
another doctor to do this for you, this is even better. Critical
patients can also help you improve , provided you don’t
get defensive when they censure you. Use their feedback constructively
to improve the care you provide to your patients !
a. General Clinic Facilities
Is the area big enough ? What about the design, atmosphere,
cleanliness, maintenance ?
Are the waiting rooms comfortable ? Do the patients feel pampered
?
Do the examination rooms offer privacy ? Are they well-equipped
?
Are the toilets clean ? easily accessible ?
b. Telephone System
Are their enough incoming lines ?
Are phones answered promptly and politely ?
Are fax, e-mail services available ?
Is there a scheduled call back time or other means of returning
calls ?
Is there a system to ensure incoming messages are appropriately
directed and acknowledged ?
Do patients know how to contact you after the clinic is closed
in case of emergency ?
c. Appointment System
Does it satisfactorily accommodate patients ? Is there a very
long waiting list ?
Do you keep to your appointment schedule ?
Is there a system to accommodate urgent or emergency appointments
?
Is there provision for coverage after the clinic is closed
?
d. Filing System
Is the filing system efficient and accessible ?
How are the charts coded ?
Is there a system to avoid mis-filing ?
e. Medical Instruments and
Equipment
Is the equipment modern and uptodate ?
Are appropriate sterilization procedures in place ?
Is there a system for managing biomedical waste ?
f. Drug Supplies and Samples
Are appropriate drugs available and properly stored ?
Is there a proper system for maintaining current list of drugs
on hand and monitoring expiration dates
Are narcotics and other controlled drugs stored securely ?
g. Emergency Facilities
Is the emergency medical cart appropriately stocked, centrally
stored, and readily available ?
Does the staff know what to do in the event of an emergency
or disaster ?
h. Laboratory Investigations
What type of investigations are available ?
Are they accessible on-site or close by ?
Is quality control maintained ? Are the results verified ?
checked ? recorded properly ?
i. Personnel
Is there enough staff for running the clinic smoothly ?
Are they well trained ?
Do they work well with each other ?
Are regular staff meetings held to trouble shoot problems
?
Are there documented job descriptions and office policies
?
k. Miscellaneous Observations
Is there a system for handling incoming medical reports and
test results ?
Is there a system for handling consultations and referrals
?
Are educational and medical reference materials available
for the
doctor ? for the patients ?
TOP
It’s also a good idea to pretend you are a new patient,
and subject your clinic to the following First Impressions
Test . This can help you identify deficiencies in your present
practice, so you can work on improving it
First Impressions Test.
| 1 |
Is the practice easy to identify from the street? |
Yes |
No |
| 2 |
Once inside the building, is it easy to find your office?
|
Yes |
No |
| 3 |
When you enter the office, is the air fresh? |
Yes |
No |
| 4 |
If a glass partition separates the reception are and
the
receptionist, does the receptionist open it immediately
when a visitor arrives?
|
Yes |
No |
| 5 |
Is the reception area furniture free of stains and tears? |
Yes |
No |
| 6 |
Is there some individual seating in the reception area? |
Yes |
No |
| 7 |
there current issues of different magazines? |
Yes |
No |
| 8 |
Are patients greeted with a smile? |
Yes |
No |
| 9 |
Do staff make eye contact with the patient? |
Yes |
No |
| 10 |
Are first-time patients welcomed to the practice? |
Yes |
No |
| 11 |
Does a staff member ask the patient about the name
he or she prefers to be called? Alternatively, are all
adult
patients addressed by their last names?
|
Yes |
No |
| 12 |
Are patients afforded privacy to explain why they are
there? |
Yes |
No |
| 13 |
Are patient names and records accessible to staff only? |
Yes |
No |
| 14 |
Do staff orient patients about what will happen next? |
Yes |
No |
| 15 |
Does the patient meet his or her physician before disrobing,
giving a urine specimen, having blood pressure checked,
and
so on?
|
Yes |
No |
| 16 |
Do staff or physicians apologize for waits longer then
five
minutes?
|
Yes |
No |
| 17 |
Do staff members listen without interrupting? |
Yes |
No |
| 18 |
Do physicians and staff appear to be happy in their
positions? |
Yes |
No |
TOP
Don’t get disheartened if your score is
low – this checklist can give you a goal
you should aim for !
Benchmarking Your Medical Practice
While the term benchmarking may be unfamiliar,
it’s something doctors do all the time to
improve their clinical skills. We compare and
observe skilled and experienced surgeons, for
example, so we can learn their superior surgical
techniques - and in exactly the same way, benchmarking
is a business technique which analyses successful
competitors to determine the indicators of business
success , and then applies that information to
achieving business growth and improvement for
yourself. For doctors benchmarking is a way of
taking a critical look or "snapshot"
of your practice's health. It provides you with
an objective way to measure your practice's performance,
and to compare it with others’, so that
you can learn from the best practices of the leaders.
Historically, physicians have not formally benchmarked
their practices. However, benchmarking is not
such a new concept, and it’s something all
of us have been doing informally for years. For
example, when we compare our past year’s
income with our present year’s performance,
we are using internal benchmarking. Has your income
gone up or down? Have expenses remained steady,
or have they spiked up? Looking internally will
show you how well you are progressing.
Clinics have also used benchmarking to improve
their clinical protocols. Thus, leading IVF clinics
collaborate with each other and compare their
techniques and pregnancy rates, so that they can
learn from each other, and adopt the techniques
which give the best results.
Benchmarking is an excellent tool for assessing
the health of your practice and detecting problems
as early as possible. Remember that you can learn
a lot from other successful doctors – and
benchmarking will allow everyone to improve !
Thus, if you are reluctant to share information
with your local “competition”, you
might want to benchmark with a colleague in another
city, whose specialty and practise size is similar
to yours. Rather than compete with each other,
you can collaborate to create a win-win situation
!
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