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“Haste Makes Waste,” but “Time is Money”
By Marie Olesen
As seen in APSA Network, Volume 13, Number 2, 1999.
As I visit plastic surgery practices all over the country, I see many people working harder when there is so much to be gained from working smarter. We've all heard this before, but what are we doing about it? There is so much to be gained by proactively managing our practices - our personal efforts can actually decrease while our practices become more successful.
My husband, R. Merrel Olesen, MD, developed a course about operating room efficiency which he calls, "Haste Makes Waste, but Time is Money." I've borrowed his title because I think the concept is as applicable to the front desk as it is to the operating room. We want to do things well the first time so that we don't have to do them over. If we can combine doing something right with doing it efficiently, there is even greater value.
Why are some practices so much more effective than others? Why do some staffs work forty-hour weeks to get the job done while others can't keep up even if they work 50-60 hours a week? Recently, after I had given a speech, someone in the audience remarked, "Oh, you're one of those [old fashioned] "efficiency experts." I hadn't heard that phrase in years. But, it is true. Even though we talk about "work processes" and "Information systems" today, the goal is the same - getting more done is less time. And, it isn't a bad thing. "It's a good thing"
Saving time at work matters because it equates to easier. We're all going to be at work anyhow, so why not do what we have to do as quickly and successfully as possible? There is a distinct personal benefit as well. I have a theory that each of us comes to the office with an "energy budget" for our workday. The remainder of our resources must be reserved for the rest of our lives - families, other responsibilities, and personal pleasure. At issue is whether our work life is so demanding that our "energy budget" will be used up by 11am or whether our workday goes so well that we have energy reserves at the end of the day. Since we have to work, it is much more fun (and much more secure) to work for a successful practice rather than one that is struggling.
THE 3 C's REPLACE THE 3 R'sComputing [we need to know how to use computers personally and to use them to help us gather data needed for our practices] Critical thinking [we need to examine our personal actions and to analyze practice data] Capacity for change [we need to make the personal or managerial changes indicated] - Tom Peters, In Pursuit of Wow |
Tom Peters in his recent book, In Pursuit of Wow, made a compelling observation. He said that "the 3 R's [reading, writing and arithmetic] have been replaced by the 3 C's - computing, critical thinking and the capacity for change." His observation applies equally to our personal lives and to our practices. It is a new age and new skills and approaches to everyday tasks are absolutely necessary.
When we organize out workplace to make our lives easier, it can produce better business results as well. The accompanying exhibit shows the incredible variance between two real practices. Notice how differently they benefit from new patient activity. Practice A earns $60k of surgical income from every 100 new patient appointments, while Practice B does four times better, scheduling $244k. (For the purposes of this example, each surgical case is $4000.) If each practice has a goal of billing $500k, then Practice A needs to make 800 appointments and see 480 patients in consultation, while Practice B only needs to make 200 appointments and see 174 consults! That means it is four times harder for Practice A to meet budget than Practice B. Or, Practice B needs to expend only one quarter of the same effort of Practice A to achieve the same results.
If you determine that your practice needs improvement, then think about how to approach the process of change. Better management - of ourselves and our practices - achieves better results. Look at your current methods and benchmark against those who perform at the highest level. How do you compare? Better or worse? Depending on the answer, you can either celebrate or get back to basics.
To learn more about our consulting services:
Articles by our consultants:
- Using Patient Financing to Grow Your Practice
- "Haste Makes Waste," but "Time is Money"
- "Spring Training" for Practice Growth
- The Five Deadly Sins of Medical Marketing
- Top Five Tips for Revenue Growth
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