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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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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The telephone imposition: Why doctors need to rethink

What it’s all about

At a time when digital innovations form the backbone of efficient business management, the German healthcare system, especially in medical practice communication, often falls short of its potential. A particularly pressing problem is the “telephone imposition” – a significant burden for both patients and practice staff, which manifests itself in endless queues and the expectation of callbacks.

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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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Practice management: The relationship between people management, productivity, efficiency and effectiveness

❓What it’s all about

The concepts of productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are of great importance in the context of practice management and specifically in the employee management of physicians in private practice. They influence not only the operational process, but also the quality of patient care and ultimately the economic success of the practice.

➡️ Effectiveness

Effectiveness refers to the extent to which set goals are actually achieved. In a medical practice, this could be improving patient satisfaction or reducing waiting times, for example.

Effectiveness means managing staff in such a way that practice teams are successful in achieving their goals. This requires clear communication of what needs to be accomplished, regular feedback on implementation, and any adjustments to the work process.

➡️ productivity

Productivity describes the ratio of output to input in a given time frame. In a doctor’s office, the output could be the number of patients treated, while the input includes the resources used to do so, such as time, personnel and materials.

For staff management, high productivity means deploying staff in a way that makes the best use of resources. Training, clear work instructions and, of course, unambiguous communication all help to keep productivity on target.

➡️ Efficiency

Efficiency is the term used when a goal is achieved with a minimum use of resources. Thus, it is a specific form of productivity that is concerned with how well inputs are converted into outputs.

Efficiency in people management means that teams are organized in such a way that they can accomplish the given tasks in optimal time and quality. This can be achieved through good planning, proper selection and training of staff, and the use of best practices to ensure that misalignments don’t get in the way of the work.

🔄 Implementation

Productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness are closely related concepts that play a key role in employee management. By applying them correctly and monitoring them on an ongoing basis, physicians in private practice can optimize practice operations, improve patient care, and ensure financial success.

Integrating these concepts into practice management, for example through practice management benchmarking with ratios, can be a useful method is the appropriate method for this purpose. It uses the validated guideline of the Best Practice Standard for this purpose. It describes all the regulations, instruments and behaviors that are essential in the action areas of practice management, from planning to market research, organization, leadership, patient care and marketing to controlling, for work that functions smoothly even under changing requirements.

Efficient practice management: The importance of a feedback culture 🏥👨‍⚕️👩‍⚕️

What it’s all about 📜

In the modern workplace, an effective feedback culture is essential, and this naturally applies to the medical environment as well. Practice owners have a key role to play in creating a positive feedback culture in this context. The term “culture” plays a crucial role here, as it lays the foundation for the way feedback is given and received in the working environment of a medical practice. 🌐

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