Today’s medical practices are consumer-focused and demand personalized care. To succeed in this environment, doctors must step back, evaluate, and expand their practices to increase patient engagement. It’s a challenging time for doctors who want to continue practicing medicine, and it won’t get any easier. To improve patient engagement and manage the growing demands of the healthcare consumer, doctors must expand their practices. Fortunately, there are many ways to grow your medical practice that won’t require a significant investment. This blog post will discuss the best ways to expand your medical practice.
Go digital
Most of today’s medical practices are conducted in traditional methods, with just under half of all physicians using electronic health records. Unfortunately, many physicians haven’t transitioned their practices to digital. Digital transformation helps your practice transition from a one-way communication system to a two-way one. Digital transformation can reduce overhead costs and increase revenue. The ability to track results and generate revenue through marketing help physicians expand their practices; it can also improve patient care. Digital technology can help you track physician engagement and satisfaction with patients, which can help you find certain areas to improve in. By looking into digitising certain roles, you can for example hire a virtual medical receptionist who performs the same duties, only remotely and using integrated software to improve clinical outcomes by improving communication and coordination between patients and their care teams. Digital technology can also help you increase your presence and enhance the overall experience of potential and existing patients.
Invest in tech and equipment
Healthcare providers use new technologies to engage patients, improve processes, and increase revenue. And there’s no better way to do that than with technology.
For example, you can use technology to send patient reminders and appointment confirmations, manage patient appointments, and send reminders to your employees. You can also use technology to help manage your clinical operations, including documentation, a medical fridge, and data analysis.
Offer more services
When you first start as a physician, clinics often offer a one- or two-service model. You must provide more services to attract new patients and increase revenue. Many clinics offer only a handful of benefits to start, but that’s often not enough to meet the needs of your patients. Offer more services, such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, and sensitive exams and treatments, like hormone therapy and desensitization. Offering more services can attract new patients and expand revenue. It can also make your practice more efficient by giving you more time on essential items.
Include complementary therapies
Invest in more conventional medicines and technologies that help physicians expand their practices, like electronic health records and clinical decision support. Some traditional therapies, like acupuncture and chiropractic, are well-established and frequently used by patients. Other treatments, like herbal remedies and nutritional supplements, still need to be discovered and often misunderstood by the public.
Partner with other treatment facilities
This can look like PCPs partnering with practices that offer in-house testing, such as X-rays or MRI scans, to avoid trips to the hospital. It can also involve recommending facilities that can assist with further treatment options, such as pain management, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, etc.