Unified Practice

To learn more about Unified Practice’s ehr and practice management software, get started here. 

Whether you work in a single practitioner clinic or run a business with multiple providers, it may feel like there’s never enough hours in the day to get everything done. 

We get it: Practitioners are easily swamped with a myriad of tasks, from seeing patients to setting up appointments, billing insurance, sending out prescriptions, and signing off on SOAP notes. Part of the issue is practitioners are often so focused on quality patient care that they may not be aware of the most efficient ways to manage their practice. Rather, we’re taught how to stay busy and take on more work, so we don’t stop to wonder if we’re doing something as efficiently as possible while propelling the business forward.

Here are some time-saving tricks to manage your practice better, helping you, your team, and patients all reap the benefits.

5 Must-Try Management Tips for Practitioners

1. Chart with an iPad

Paper charts can be incredibly inefficient — from the time spent storing and sending paper to an increased risk of incomplete or misread information, not to mention the mere time spent writing by hand. That’s why using an EHR can be such a time saver. Unified Practice’s iPad EHR is a swift, digital version of a clipboard and includes dozens of shortcuts and customizable tools to allow practitioners to chart faster with more flexibility. Some features include speech-to-text options, customizable SOAP notes, and access to a camera to take photos and scan documents in one click. 

2. Let your patients book online

If paper and phone calls are running your clinic, there’s a good chance it’s slowing you down. Medical experts say it takes an average of 8.1 minutes to schedule a single appointment by phone. With powerful practice management software, you’ll have access to online scheduling and SMS appointment reminders for your patients, helping them book faster while decreasing the likelihood of a no-show. You can also input patient onboarding forms into your EHR so patients can fill them out ahead of an appointment and you can access their information with the click of a button or swipe of the screen.

3. Get onboard with automated email marketing

Email marketing is a great way to improve patient satisfaction, increase revenue, and run a more strategic business. Yet if you’re manually writing emails to every single patient with no automation or targeting techniques, you’ll be spending a lot of time typing away with little ROI in sight. 

With Unified Practice’s practice management system, you’ll have access to a free integration with Constant Contact, a HIPAA complaint email marketing software that helps you easily send targeted, automated emails. Communicating smarter with your patients will likely reap great benefits for your practice and luckily doesn’t take a ton of time.  

4. Start your day with a 10-minute stand up 

While morning standups are common amongst tech companies, they’re less prevalent in the medical field. Yet they can be incredibly useful, especially in multi-practitioner clinics. Oftentimes, the biggest productivity liability within clinics is poor communication and misaligned priorities among staff. Consider adding a morning stand-up, which will help improve communication throughout the team. Each person can go around and identify what they’re working on to ensure alignment and clarity across the clinic. It’s also a great time to ask for help from others. If you work in a single-practitioner clinic, take 10 minutes each morning to write out what you hope to accomplish that day. Another helpful time-saving tip is to “eat the frog” and do harder tasks you’re likely to avoid first-thing in the morning.

5. Develop long term goals

We know that seeing patients is far from the only responsibility you have. To grow your reputation as an acupuncturist, TCM practitioner, or wellness provider, you might be asked to write a white paper, speak at a conference, participate in a webinar, or join a board. While it’s easy to say “yes” to all of the above, it might not be the best use of your time. That’s why understanding what your long-term vision is for you and your practice is incredibly important. Before you take on new responsibilities, consider how these inbound tasks will advance your specific career goals. This will help you know what to confidently say yes to and which items you can politely decline.

Final Word

These are just a few of the many small changes you can make to save a significant amount of time while running your business. Using an EHR or practice management tool for TCM will undoubtedly help you work more efficiently, while communicating with your team and having a plan for your future will enable you to focus on the work that matters most.

See how Unified Practice can save you countless hours which you can put towards what truly matters. Get started today.