There are five common pitfalls medical practices encounter daily that can decrease the odds for success and profitability, according to an April 19 report from Medscape.
Five common mistakes that can hurt ASCs and medical practices:
1. Failing to engage in community outreach to build up your practice. While physician reputation can bring in patients, it's important that your practice is a well-known name in the community, especially in oversaturated care areas.
2. Not having oversight of outsourced billing. Many practices ignore billing and hand it over to a third-party company. Outsourcing should not be about handing off bills and forgetting about them, but rather, staff should follow up and build relationships with billing service providers.
3. Not forging the right community relationships. Successful practices need to establish relationships with other physician organizations in the community.
4. Hiring the wrong person for a job. Especially for small practices, it can be tempting to hire lower-cost labor, or even a personal connection. The person you hire needs to be totally qualified, not just someone you have a preexisting relationship or connection with.
5. Overlooking the importance of respecting your staff. Some physicians can get too comfortable in the office environment and around staff, but ASCs have to keep in mind that with labor shortages, workers can be hard to come by. Stay away from inappropriate and uncaring behaviors that could lead to a negative reputation.