As the New Year approaches, it is a good time to reflect on the people, systems, and even technology that worked well and identify those that need improvement. And while some of the decisions may be difficult, it is often best to act quickly to hit the ground running in the new year.

PEOPLE

End-of-year staff reviews are a great way to reset job descriptions and expectations for the year to come. Meeting with each member of the team establishes where they are in their career, builds rapport and allows the staff member to clearly relay their aspirations and current job challenges.

It is a great time to reward team members who have shined, and to work with those who need more guidance. For example, if a staff member is not happy in their current role, we will work with them on a plan to begin training in a new area of the practice or point them in the direction of further education for a role that may be more fulfilling. I have had team members who began their career in our practice at the front desk who eventually became billing/coding certified.

In my experience, staff often outgrow the role they assumed when first hired and are looking for a new challenge. Working with them to find that role builds loyalty and allows for retention of talented individuals.

SYSTEMS

At the end of the year, we should ask ourselves whether there are procedures that we have outgrown or are redundant.

When I ask a staff member a question as to why a task is performed a certain way, the answer should never be, “Because we’ve always done it that way.” When the systems are inefficient for the task we are trying to accomplish, it is time to rethink them.

I recommend, at a minimum, reviewing the following systems: recall, confirmation, phones, billing, accounts receivable, optical ordering, contact lens inventory/ordering, and patient flow. Evaluating these systems every year with our eye care team will typically uncover a few flaws that lead to most of the office’s headaches.

An example at our practice is when we switched phone systems from analog to voice over IP. We learned very quickly that our patients were accustomed to having a “live voice” answer the phone, and many were turned off by the auto attendant. In response, we built a custom system that allowed most incoming calls to be answered by our front office; calls were triaged there and then sent on to the correct department or team member. The patient complaints regarding our phone system soon went away.

MEDICAL DEVICES & DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT

Just like staff and systems, medical devices also need to be reevaluated. At the very least, practice owners and managers need to review their service agreements and warranties and be sure they are renewed or terminated (if necessary).

Equipment that is not adding to the bottom line is best sold to make space for devices that will grow the business. After we purchased an OCT years ago, we removed two other pieces of equipment we rarely used. We used the funds to pay for an updated visual field analyzer.

BEST WISHES FOR 2023

As our calendar year winds down, I wish all my colleagues a successful and rewarding 2023! May the lessons we have learned the past few years inform our decisions, as we continue to provide excellent care and service to our patients! OM