SINCE JOYCE BLAIR JOINED SOUTHPOINTE Veterinary Hospital in Allen Park, Mich., as its hospital manager 12 years ago, she estimates
she has saved the owner at least 25 hours a week. Dr. Carol McKee, owner of the six-doctor, 22-staff member practice, says
Blair saves her "every minute she's here," so really that's more like 40 hours a week.
"I'd say my biggest contribution to the practice is the owner's peace of mind," says Blair. "I've freed up her time by handling
staff and client issues. I certainly try to run the practice day to day in a way that's in line with her thinking and philosophy."
Figure 1. Covering all the management duties
|
With more time, owners with practice managers can focus more on client and patient care. In fact, more time means they can
see more patients. Since Jan Diffin took over as the clinic manager of Escanaba Veterinary Clinic in Escanaba, Mich., the
three-doctor practice has seen about 30 additional clients per week. Calculated at an average doctor transaction of $112,
that works out to an extra $3,360 per month—or more than $40,000 a year.
In all fairness, Diffin says, the hospital added another doctor last year, too. Diffin's humble when she talks about her contributions
to the practice, but the numbers don't lie. And she'll admit that her position saves the practice money. "We increased our
profits by having a clinic manager because the doctors can practice medicine; they don't have to worry about staff problems,
scheduling, and ordering inventory," she says. But more important, says Diffin, are her contributions to the clinic team by
facilitating monthly staff meetings, continuing education, and open communication for the 15 staff members.
Figure 2. Taking care of your manager
|
These benefits—the ability to delegate employee development, an improvement in the owners' quality of life, and the ability
to focus on medicine and strategic planning—are the top reasons that owners hire or want to hire a hospital administrator
or manager, according to results from Benchmarks 2006: A Study of Well-Managed Practices. There's no surprise then that 71
percent of the 100 top-notch practices participating in the study currently employ a hospital administrator or manager. Of
those without, 50 percent plan to hire one in the next two years. Knowing what they know now, 57 percent would have hired
a manager sooner.
Overall, study participants that employ a manager say their managers have saved them an average of 15 hours a week. They report
lower overall staff cost as a percentage of revenue (by about 1 percent), and per doctor production averages that are $46,000
higher than in practices without a manager. "I think my doctor's relieved that she can practice medicine now," says Diffin.
"She doesn't need to worry about the small stuff."
|
Featuring Information from:
