The US boasts of the biggest Healthcare industry with 784,626 healthcare companies. The staggering figure also points to the immense competition that healthcare businesses face. Today, healthcare has evolved by leaps and bounds. To keep up with the advancements, you need to grow your healthcare business in accordance with the trends.
Often when you focus on the growth of your business, you might fail to notice the most crucial part of your business – Your employees. Your employees make you what you are. Without your team, you are incomplete.
When you want your business to thrive, you might compromise on your employees’ needs; by making them work for longer hours, delaying their salaries, making them work with old and undeveloped equipment and so on. So how do you manage to fulfil the requirements of your employees and render to them a good experience while you focus on the growth of your business?
Here we have listed a few tips on how to do so.
A] Effective Payer Contract Negotiation
Increased revenue is necessary to meet the needs of your employees. An effective strategy to have increased revenue is the negotiation of payer contracts. Payer contracts set out guidelines that both parties agree to, regarding payment, timing, and policy changes. These constraints oblige the payer to follow and compel them to pay timely without delays. By having proper healthcare contract management and utilizing the Gatekeeper Platform, a cloud-based SaaS solution designed for effective contract lifecycle management, you can sign contracts with payers that will immensely benefit your employees while also contributing to the growth of your business.
If your healthcare business can display data that proves the practice is effectively getting optimal outcomes at affordable costs; you can leverage the fact and negotiate for better reimbursement terms. However, the contract can have several clauses, which you need to take into consideration.
B] Get Finances
The most unavoidable part of business growth is capital. Without sufficient funds, you just can’t grow. You might not always possess the amount you need to keep the business running. In such situations, you need to avail of loans. Getting liable for a bank loan can be tedious. Get funds for your healthcare business through firms that offer loans in different forms like equipment financing, working capital loans and small business loans.
Capital loans will help you pay your employees right in time and equipment loans can get your employees high-quality and advanced equipment on lease, which will make their tasks easier and let them work with greater efficiency.
C] Consider Adopting After-Hour Virtual Visits
After-hour virtual visits also termed Telemedicine practices can be very advantageous to your employees and also promote growth. You can incorporate post office hour consultation into your practice; thereby improving patient experience and increasing patient intake for a day. This will definitely boost your income. Additionally, since the consultation will be virtual, your employees can maintain a work-life balance and provide treatment from the comfort of their homes.
Making sure your patients can always reach someone for medical advice and treatment will also go a long way in enhancing your reputation as a reliable healthcare provider. It is no secret that word of mouth plays a huge role in attracting more patients. For instance, if a current patient is satisfied with your services and recommends you to a friend who calls in after office hours, having a virtual visit option will make them feel attended to and add credibility to the recommendation.
D] Build Online Presence
Today, the authenticity and calibre of your business are greatly determined by your online presence. It won’t be an exaggeration to state if your business is not online, your business doesn’t exist. Having your healthcare business on online platforms is crucial since a significant number of people search for healthcare providers online. They greatly rely on online reviews when they make their choice. To grow your revenue; you need a constant influx of patients.
Research indicates that 89% of the population research their symptoms on the search engine before approaching a health care provider. Therefore, it’s a good idea to maintain your website and update it with quality content and blogs about the various health issues. This will create engagement and trust, which will drive the people to you.
E] Motivate Your Staff
Happy Staff= Happy patients. For the sustainable growth of your business, it’s highly necessary that you keep your staff happy, who will, in turn, provide optimal care to the patients thereby retaining patients and getting positive reviews.
Working in a healthcare environment is no easy task and therefore, you need to consistently motivate your staff. This can be done by fostering teamwork, asking for their feedback, making them feel involved in important decisions, having regular meetings, offering incentives, verbally praising and so on.
Utilizing the above-mentioned strategies, one can easily balance the growth of business with the management of employees. Remember! employees are the heart of your organization, and keeping them satisfied is your primary responsibility. Unsatisfied employees can be less productive and when the employee needs are fulfilled, they will deliver exceptionally. Keep in mind growth of a business doesn’t imply you need to put your employees through tough times. Healthcare is an ever-evolving industry and in this, effective management procedure and strategy are the only determinants of your healthcare organization’s growth or stagnation!
Article edited and fact checked by our editorial team.