Driving revenue growth in your medical practice

The challenges to sustaining a successful medical practice are numerous-declining reimbursements, government regulations, and third-party interference, among others, all play a role. But even in the face of these obstacles, many practices continue to hold their own financially. So what makes the difference between a booming practice and one stuck in neutral, or worse? The majority of physicians doing better than the previous year attributed their success to seeing more patients, enabling them to increase revenue. Yet many physicians work long hours already and wonder how seeing more patients or making other operational changes is even possible. As a starting point, physicians should figure out where their practice ranks compared to others of their size. “Look at the financials and benchmark them to get an idea whether you are performing as an average practice should,” says David Zetter, CHCC, CHBC, senior healthcare consultant for Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Zetter Healthcare and member of the National Society of Healthcare Business Consultants (NSHBC).