Inefficient practice management costs German GPs and specialists millions of euros a year

What it’s all about

Benchmarking studies of practice management show that, on average, GPs and specialists in Germany only consider half of the best practice standard in their practice management. This deficit has a considerable impact on economic efficiency because, metaphorically speaking, money is being thrown out of the window.

The best practice standard

The validated best practice guideline describes all regulations, behaviours and instruments that are essential in the areas of practice management, from planning, market research, organisation, management, patient care and marketing to controlling, for work that functions smoothly even under changing requirements.

The implementation deficit and the consequences

The lower the implementation rate, the more inefficient and therefore cost-intensive a practice is:

📌 Poor organisation and inadequate processes lead to a large number of misalignments that hinder day-to-day practice operations and increase costs due to workarounds, duplication of work and errors.

📌 Added to this are increased stress levels among employees and suboptimal patient care.

📌 If employees are managed ineffectively, they cannot realise their full potential. As a result, their productivity decreases and staff costs increase due to higher staff turnover.

📌 Furthermore, material resources are not adequately utilised or are even wasted, resulting in additional costs.

📌 In addition, there are errors in performance recording that cause financial losses.

Benchmarking as a solution

Practice management benchmarking plays a key role in identifying and eliminating these deficits. This method allows practices to be systematically analysed and evaluated in order to make the performance status of practice management as well as strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities visible.

📌 Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a crucial tool here, as they provide an objective and measurable basis for assessing the success of practice management. They make it possible to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the various practice areas and take targeted improvement measures.

📌 Another important aspect of benchmarking is risk minimisation. Inefficient processes and a lack of regulations can harbour hidden risks and lead to serious problems. Systematic benchmarking allows these risks to be identified at an early stage and minimised through targeted measures.

The benefits of benchmarking

Calculations based on work analyses in medical practices show that it is not uncommon to achieve cost savings of around 45,000 euros by eliminating efficiency barriers using benchmarking analyses, thereby generating additional turnover of around 20,000 euros, resulting in a total benefit of 65,000 euros.

Conclusion

Overall, the fact that GPs and specialists in Germany only use half of the best practice standard of practice management leads to considerable economic and organisational inefficiencies. These deficits mean that doctors are potentially wasting large sums of money, whether through inefficient processes, dissatisfied patients or sub-optimal utilisation of resources. However, with the help of practice management benchmarking and the generation of key performance indicators, these problems can be specifically addressed and rectified. This not only helps to improve the efficiency and quality of patient care, but also ensures the long-term economic success of practices. The only prerequisite is that practice owners become active and take action.