Whether you choose to work with an advisor or take the initiative yourself, here’s a brief summary of the key areas I recommend you consider.
by William K. Vincett, O.D.
Balancing patient care and managing daily operations often pulls you away from the core reason you do what you do. Beyond helping patients, it’s to earn a living!
One of the most requested advisory services I offer is to help clients refocus and achieve a higher standard of living through better cash flow and profit management of their practice. I call it the Total Practice Reset.
I start by using my experience of having analyzed and benchmarked more than 200 private practices to assess your practice. Through this exercise, the practice areas in need of attention will emerge.Together, we will then discuss where your practice is now, where it should be, and how I can help you in getting there.
For example, if the benchmarking analysis reveals your cost of goods are too high for your volume, I will take a deeper dive into your operations and look for savings opportunities, which can include consolidating your purchasing, reviewing your equipment leases and fees, and leveraging my industry network and contacts to obtain better value for your purchasing power.
Whether you choose to work with an advisor or take the initiative to evaluate profit improvements yourself, here’s a brief summary of the key areas I recommend you consider.
Key Areas of Focus
Cost-of-Goods: Evaluate your vendor partners, renegotiate supply contracts, and improve inventory management.
If you have not done a recent line-item evaluation of your product costs and inventory, you are likely paying too much … or unnecessarily giving up autonomy to achieve your savings.
Overhead: Reduce expenses that no longer provide a benefit; evaluate equipment leases, warranties, and subscription fees; repurpose unused or underutilized space.
Technology Integration: Upgrade systems such as EHR; adopt online appointment scheduling and automated recalls.
Team Performance: Maximize team contributions by strengthening associate contracts and staff incentives.
Marketing: Adopt a patient communications platform for recalls and email campaigns; Enhance visibility and attract new patients through social media, community events, and targeted online ads.
Patient Value: Increase lifetime patient revenue through the addition of services, such as dry eye treatment and myopia management. Promote your lens products for digital eye strain, driving comfort, and second-pair savings.
Facility Improvements: Ensure your space is welcoming, easy for patients to navigate and shop, and provides efficient operational flow.
Eliminate the clutter! Remove unused optical displays, outdated decor and signage, and overgrown landscaping that poorly reflects your image. Your facility should reflect the high standard of care you provide.
The Difference is Personal
Focusing on these key areas for profit improvement can be the difference of retiring on your terms, funding your children’s desired college choices, buying a second home or investment property, or perhaps driving the car you’ve always wanted.
This year, make it a priority to focus on improving your cash flow and profitability. Trusted guidance is available to expedite the process of achieving your goals.
I welcome your query.
