3 tips to effectively manage practice staff

How can a physician improve productivity and reliability, mitigate legal and financial risks, improve patient satisfaction and quality of care, and get home at a decent hour? An essential part of the answer is effective staff management, which is a big challenge in any business.

It is even more challenging for physicians because:

• A provider is generally either out of the office or in an exam room with the door shut, so she has limited opportunity to observe office/clinic operations.
• There is a wide gap between physicians and staff in regards to education, training, perspective, and job function.
• Physicians would much rather focus all their attention on patient care.

Here are three elements of effective staff management. Each requires time and energy. Some require financial expenditures. Well done, however, they yield high returns - like any good investment.