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 competence fallacy of German general practitioners and specialists

What it’s all about

The feature most frequently mentioned in benchmarking practice analyses as part of the SWOT survey when it comes to the strengths of doctors and staff is the professional qualifications of the practice owners. However, this view is misleading and can even be dangerous for practice management. Why this is the case and what the consequences are is central to understanding modern practice management.

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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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The underestimated barriers to digitalisation in German medical practices

What it’s all about

Digitalisation in the German healthcare system offers considerable potential for increasing the efficiency and quality of patient care. Nevertheless, the transformation is only progressing slowly, especially in medical practices. This is why there is an intensive debate on how the benefits of digital solutions for outpatient care can be quickly and systematically realised by GPs and specialists. The central starting point here is to overcome the scepticism and reluctance of practice owners by providing targeted information and concrete use cases. However, this attitude is only the tip of the iceberg. However, two fundamental problems remain largely unnoticed, which are an extreme obstacle to effective digitalisation: inadequate organisational and organisational structures and a lack of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge among doctors.

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Outpatient medicine in Germany: The medieval pillory in modern medical practices

What it’s all about

The results from the employee surveys of our practice management comparisons show that around 25% of German GP and specialist practices have a system that is reminiscent of the medieval pillory: practice owners publicly reprimand their employees in front of colleagues and patients when they make mistakes. The reasons for such open criticism may be factually justified, but the procedure is completely unsuitable as a disciplinary measure.

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Digitalisation of the healthcare system in Germany: Practice management is the key to success

What it’s all about

Like all other players in the healthcare system in Germany, GPs and specialists are also facing a major challenge: digitalisation. However, the widespread reluctance of many practice owners to embrace this transformation is often misinterpreted. It’s not primarily about a rejection of the technology itself, but about a deeper, often unconscious realisation for doctors: current practice management models are reaching their limits and a comprehensive redesign of management is unavoidable.

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How the development of the future viability of management in German medical practices is impaired by the changejection trap

What it’s all about

One of the aspects analysed as part of our practice management benchmarking is whether the GP and specialist practices surveyed run as “learning practices”, i.e. whether they are continuously and actively working to systematically develop the quality of their work. The response rate is alarming not only with regard to sustainability: only just over 10% of practice owners confirm the description for their practice.

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