While people all over the country are setting resolutions for the new year, dermatologist Joseph Eastern, MD, has suggested 12 resolutions that physicians can make to improve their practices going into 2023 in a Dec. 15 Medscape report.
Twelve New Year's resolutions for physicians:
1. Keep your website up to date. Be sure to check it regularly so that patients are not seeing out-of-date photos, statistics or services.
2. Cultivate your social media presence, and use it frequently. You should be on the social media sites where your patients congregate, whether that be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.
3. Use your colleagues as inspiration. Instead of reinventing the wheel, see what works for physicians around you, as they are a good source of information.
4. Post on social media frequently to improve your engagement and reach more prospective patients.
5. Participate in ongoing trends by posting on topics that are popular online at the moment.
6. Google yourself and make sure you are maintaining a healthy online reputation. Learn from your bad reviews.
7. Encrypt your mobile devices. Laptops and tablets contain sensitive information, and if one is lost, it can constitute a HIPAA breach.
8. Make sure your data is backed up.
9. Keep a closer eye on your office finances. Most physicians delegate bookkeeping, but set aside time to personally review the books every month to avoid any wrongdoings.
10. Examine your long-term financial planning goals to make sure everything is on track. Economic conditions change, so make sure you are keeping up with them through your investments, budgets, retirement plans and more.
11. Pay down any and all significant debts.
12. Take more vacations. Commit to spending more time with friends and family.