Way to Improve Medical Practice Productivity
The average primary care consultancy in India is 2 minutes, as against the first world countries where it is about 20 minutes, as per the study. The study published in the British Journal of Medicine (BMJ) was conducted by researchers from UK hospitals. One of the main reasons for poor doctor-patient engagement could be attributed to the doctor-population ratio in India.
Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said in the Question Hour that the doctor-population ratio in India is 0.62:1000 taking into consideration the population of 1.33 billion. This ratio is far below the WHO recommendation of 1:1000.
There is tremendous opportunity to improve the productivity of your medical practice so that you can attend to your patients and also increase your revenues.
Delegate Routine Tasks
One of the ways to increase productivity is to delegate non-specialized routine tasks to a different team. Dr. Srinivasan of Aravind Eye Care System said that he lets the doctors do what they are best at - diagnosis and surgery. 60% of his workforce are the women eye care technicians who perform non-surgical tasks. These technicians are given two-year advance training. In this way, the doctors are able to operate at a high volume, as well as give more attention to the patients.
Patient Portal
Dr. Srinivasan also adds that the first time the doctor physically examines us, he/she writes some tests and medication. The next visit is for perusal of the reports. Imagine if we could upload the reports in the cloud and take further consultation over the video. It would save the patient all the time of travelling and waiting in the queue. It would add efficiency on the end of the medical practitioner.
A patient's portal makes the communication between the doctor and the patient seamless. It allows the patient to book appointments, upload reports, get updates, pay bills, and ask questions, if any.
In fact, the doctors can use voice recognition software so that all inputs on diagnosis and medication can be automatically fed into the portal. Alternatively, he can invest in non-physician providers (NPPs) or assistants to do the clerical work. A dedicated team for data upload on the cloud, can help increase efficiency of your practice.
ChartLogic claims that use of their EMR’s voice recognition technology decreases overhead by 60%, and increases billable revenue by 25%.
Some of the other software programs that can be used along with the patient portal are electronic health records (EHRs), hospital management software, etc. Indira IVF Hospital Management System Paperless costs Rs. 8 lakh per set.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine software can help the doctor to attend more remote patients and improve productivity, even while saving his travelling time. You can even use telemedicine for community service as a marketing strategy. As per PlexusMD, the cost of setting up a telemedicine could come to around Rs. 27 lakh.
These methods go a long way to increase productivity, and engagement with the patient.
The costs for training the staff, patient portal, telemedicine software and equipment can be easily funded by a flexi doctor loan. Bajaj Finserv Loan for Doctors offers unsecured loans up to Rs. 30 lakh and allows you to borrow as per your need and repay when you can.