Efficiency barriers in German medical practices: Personal initiative? No thanks!

What it’s all about

The results of practice management comparisons and the associated employee surveys in German general practitioner and specialist practices show: In many medical practices, the personal initiative of medical assistants is not welcomed and is even consistently discouraged. There are various reasons for this behaviour on the part of practice owners, including both practical and psychological aspects. This article highlights the most important reasons and outlines the consequences.

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Practice management insufficiency: Diagnosis and treatment of the number one outpatient systemic disease in German medical practices

What it’s all about

In the search for development opportunities and future prospects for outpatient healthcare, one central starting point and design parameter is usually ignored: practice management. But its quality is currently poor. This white paper describes why practice management is so important and what GPs and specialists can do about their insufficiency.

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LeadNeglection: If there was something similar to a driving licence for employee management, most doctors wouldn’t pass the test

What it’s all about

When reviewing the results from cross-sectional analyses of our studies as part of practice management benchmarking, I repeatedly notice outstanding individual aspects that are already symptomatic in the individual analyses, but whose implications for the healthcare system only really become clear in their aggregated totality. An example of this is the best practice implementation, or rather: non-implementation (“LeadNeglection”) in the practice management action area “Employee management”.

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Survey of patient satisfaction in German medical practices: Two thirds of the results are useless

What it’s all about

Due to an incorrect methodology, the “classic” patient survey used in most German medical practices is unable to provide GPs and specialists with realistic insights into the satisfaction of their practice visitors. As a consequence, this leads to necessary change measures not being discovered at all.

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Are medical assistants modern galley slaves?

What it’s all about

In some german GP and specialist practices, conditions are reminiscent of the dark ages when galley slaves had to toil in undignified conditions. This metaphor illustrates the unfortunately frightening reality to which some staff are exposed according to the results of employee surveys carried out as part of practice management company comparisons. Here is a detailed insight into the factors that individually or in combination characterise the miserable working conditions faced by some medical assistants.

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German healthcare system: Why does the best practice standard often go unused?

What it’s all about

Practice management is the transmitter of the medical expertise of practice owners and the resources used in practice operations into patient care. The better the management works, the higher the quality of patient care. A validated, easy-to-implement guideline, the so-called best practice standard, exists for the adequate organisation of practice management. Yet these are only partially applied. This has a strong negative impact on the care of practice visitors, on the efficiency of the work, the motivation of the staff and ultimately also on the economic results of the practice.

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German general practitioners and specialists: Entrepreneurial Neglect Syndrome (ENS) and its effects

What it’s all about

Entrepreneurial Neglect Syndrome (ENS) refers to the neglect of entrepreneurial aspects in the management of medical practices. This behaviour has far-reaching consequences that affect not only practice management, but also patient care and the economic viability of the practice.

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German medical practices: Realaverism, illustrated by the example of the no-show problem

What it’s about

The term “realaverism” describes the tendency to deny or ignore unpleasant realities and often externalise them. In German medical practices, this realaverism manifests itself, for example, in the way in which the phenomenon of no-shows, i.e. the absence of patients from agreed appointments without prior cancellation, is dealt with.

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The Futurised Practice-Check in German medical practices on the topic of “Leadership”

What it’s all about

The leadership skills of practice owners are of crucial importance for future-oriented GP and specialist practice management. It ensures that employees work together as “real” teams in a motivated, efficient, flexible and successful manner and can thus proactively respond to developments in the practice’s operating environment. But how future-oriented are the futurised practices (which represent a perspective expansion of the best practice standard) of GPs and specialists today? An evaluation of the results of practice management comparisons provides information.

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German healthcare system: Practice teams are stealing their own time

Summary

The article discusses how internal inefficiencies, such as unnecessary mobile phone use during work and poor organizational practices, lead to significant time loss in medical practices, far outweighing the time spent on digitization and bureaucratic tasks.

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