Keith Borglum, CHBC
|
Q: My personal office is a constant mess. Help! A: A lean décor is more energizing than a cluttered one. Pack your entire office into boxes and take the boxes home. Only bring
back to the office what you really need when you need it. This might be a good time to have your office painted and carpeted,
too, even if just as an excuse for really cleaning it up this once.
To keep your desk clear, spend a few hours setting up an in-box and boxes for the A, B, and C categories on your list (see
"Making lists work for you," at http://www.memag.com/lists). Thereafter, clear out your A box every night, and sort everything
left in the in-box into the A, B, and C boxes. A few more tips:
- If you train someone once to do certain of your tasks, then those tasks are delegated forevermore. To reduce interruptions
for questions about routine tasks, put in writing the information necessary to complete each one. Anything not requiring a
physician license can be delegated.
- Dictate progress notes in front of patients 95 percent of the time. They'll appreciate it, your charts will get less backed
up, your desk will be cleaner, and your whole office will be more efficient because staff members will not be waiting for
you to process charts. Don't even think about putting in an electronic medical records system until you've gotten control
of your current processes; otherwise, you can just make it all worse.
- Take your whole staff to a one-day organizational or time-management seminar and make them report their progress to you every
week for the next month.
- Ask your staff what you could do to be more organized, listen politely (no rejection of ideas at this point), and try to do
what they suggest. They know you well and would love to tell you what they think. Then lead by example.
|
Medical Economics consultant Keith Borglum, CHBC (left), of Professional Management and Marketing, has been a licensed practice broker, appraiser,
author, and management consultant to physicians for more than 25 years; is based in Santa Rosa, California; and practices
nationally. Send your practice management questions to mepractice@advanstar.com
.
Practice Tools
