By Anthony Vecchione
Operational efficiency is essential to minimize redundancy and waste in any business and occupational health is no exception. However, attaining operational efficiency in occupational health takes customized strategies to address the industry’s unique problems and goals. George Pappas, M.D., president, CEO, and medical director at Tyler Medical Services in St. Charles, IL, offers the following tips on operational efficiency: For starters, cross-train your staff. “This will allow you to not only staff appropriately but your operational efficiency will be enhanced.” Provide extra training for your front desk and reception staff, for example. According to Dr. Pappas, they can easily be trained to handle things like drug testing and breath alcohol collection. He said most independent occupational health clinics need x-ray technicians on staff and they can be cross-trained for drug and alcohol testing too, as well as for basic patient care services including vital signs and injury history. Multitasking is also a key element in operational efficiency. “With today’s thin profit margins and the changing scope of medical practices, you have to do that in order to staff appropriately,” Dr. Pappas said. An investment in technology is also important to ignite profitability and attain operational excellence. Having the right software platform, enhanced internal and external communication with staff and clients, and proper billing software are also essential. Dr. Pappas encourages providers and clinics to focus on billing coding to capture all charges because missed charges result in lost revenue. Donna Lee Gardner, R.N., M.B.A., senior principal at RYAN Associates, said it is imperative to hire the right
people for the job. “This is where I think most clinics fall down. You really need to care to map your processes and you should have a map that says when a patient comes in for example with an injury, that you go from here at the desk to the MA and from the MA to maybe some screening, from screening into the office with the doctor.” Once you develop those care maps, someone needs to monitor how long it takes for each step. For example, when a patient comes in for an injury or exam, they have to be in and out within 45 minutes. “That’s the standard,” said Ms. Gardner. Productivity standards are also vital. For example, if you are doing a breath alcohol test, it should take anywhere from 8-12 minutes, and urine drug screens should be between 12-15 minutes. “There are excellent standards out there. Too often, though, nobody looks at them, and operational efficiencies are not as good as they should be or could be,” said Ms. Gardner.
Attaining Operational Efficiencies will be the topic of course #7 at RYAN Associates’ 28th Annual Conference, with Donna Lee Gardner, Terri Pharr, and Dr. George Pappas serving as faculty.
