A physician in private practice should regularly look for certain findings that may indicate a problem exists in the practice. Early detection allows for early interventions before a serious crisis develops.
Measures to watch:
(1) trends over time
(2) comparison to regional practice norms
Patient-related:
(1) no shows
(2) complaints
(3) waiting times
Office personnel-related:
(1) overtime
(2) turnover
(3) attitude
(4) complaints of rudeness
(5) absenteeism
(6) quality of management reports
(7) problems with computer systems
Financial-related:
(1) accounts receivable, especially those over 90 days
(2) adjustments and write-downs
(3) timeliness of payments from insurance companies
Cost-related:
(1) running out of supplies
(2) stat ordering of supplies
(3) rising overhead
(4) late charges on bills
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