There are many benefits of growing or joining a practice with multiple locations. A multi-location practice has real tangible benefits over solo offices. Some of which include economies of scale, greater market access, larger pool of capital, combined interests and workflow productivity. Not to mention there are a number of strategic management decisions that exist for practices with multiple locations from referral quality to the ability to pilot new healthcare technologies that perhaps a smaller practice would not have the wiggle room financially (or operationally) to implement.
That being said, there are challenges associated with every new practice added into the system. As the number of staff and patients increases with expansion, challenges arise in running the practice efficiently.
NY-based multi-location practice Schweiger Dermatology is a prime example of a practice that has managed to grow quickly and efficiently. Schweiger Dermatology runs its medical offices like a business, and Julie Zuckerman Gessin, Group Vice President of Clinical Operations at Schweiger, has tips for business-minded practice managers and owners to expand their own. Below Julie outlines her 10 Steps to Building an Efficient Multi-Location Practice.
These tips can be useful in managing any number of multiple teams in a medical office environment. Have an external call center? What about a rotating front desk staff? Having these 10 core points operate smoothly will lead to better efficiency, reduced costs and room for expansion.