Over the past few years, many studies have identified the negative impacts of excessive administrative tasks on healthcare practices. One study found that 24% of physicians’ working hours were spent on administrative duties, causing them to consider seeing fewer patients in the future (Rao et al., 2017).
Medical practice management takes charge of these tasks, reducing administrative burden and improving patient experience. With the right systems and resources, medical practice managers can create a successful medical practice across the board.
In this article, we’ll discuss the present challenges practice managers face and highlight healthcare tools and software to help managers streamline their many responsibilities.
What is Medical Practice Management?
Medical practice management covers all the behind-the-scenes work that allows a clinic to run. This includes administrative tasks involved with patient communication, staff management, medical billing, and more. Ideally, this work is the responsibility of office staff and medical practice managers.
According to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA)’s 2024 report, 75% of physicians say that unnecessary administrative tasks negatively affect their job satisfaction, which contributes to physician burnout. However, the same report also notes that 38% of these tasks don’t actually require physician expertise.
By reducing the burden of day-to-day operations, medical practice management gives doctors more time to deliver the best possible patient-centered care.
The Responsibilities of Medical Practice Managers
Medical practice managers handle the high-level responsibilities of running a healthcare organization. This includes developing policies, monitoring HIPAA compliance, and managing medical billing.
Medical office managers tend to focus more on general administrative duties, such as scheduling, ordering supplies, and managing patient records. In smaller practices, one person will often fill both of these roles—which makes it doubly important to have streamlined processes.
One survey from the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) found that 65% of American adults described managing their healthcare as “overwhelming and time-consuming.” Successful medical practice management reduces the strain of healthcare coordination for patients and providers, improving patient experience.
Business Operations
High-level business operations create the systems that run a practice and identify when these systems could be improved. These systems aren’t just important for how the business runs, but also impact how patients feel about the medical practice.
In 2023, The HIPAA Journal found that 95% of patients worry that their healthcare data will be leaked online. It's up to medical practice managers to have the knowledge required to choose trustworthy health software and keep practices HIPAA compliant.
Business operations responsibilities typically include:
- Data management and reporting on information like revenue and patient satisfaction
- Risk and compliance management
- Managing inventory
- Managing patient health records
- Researching and choosing new healthcare software
Office Admin
Office administration is often the work of medical office managers, as well as practice managers who work for smaller clinics. These managers supervise office assistants, be the first point of contact for patients, and keep the office in order.
Office administration typically includes:
- Patient communication, including scheduling, appointment reminders, and waitlisting.
- Insurance verification
- Patient engagement
- Ensuring an accessible patient experience
- Marketing by email and social media
Patients at a physician’s office are almost twice as likely to say that staff attitudes impact how positive or negative their experience is, compared to customers in hotels, banks, and airlines (Medical Economics, 2012). Creating a seamless and warm office experience is key to patient satisfaction and retention.
Financial Management
According to a growing body of research, investment in primary care is tied to better quality of care, patient health outcomes, overall life expectancy, and reduced healthcare costs (Koller, C. F., & Khullar, D., 2017).
Ensuring the financial health of a medical practice relies on many moving parts, including coordinating with insurance providers as well as navigating state- and federal-level funding. Medical practice managers who implement smart financial management strategies increase the quality of patient care while saving clinics money in the long run.
The financial responsibilities typically include:
- Budgeting
- Writing regular financial reports
- Researching budget- and patient-friendly cost-saving measures
- Billing for insurance reimbursement under different CPT codes
Within a clinical practice’s financial model (fee-for-service, value-based care, etc.) practice managers are responsible for determining a strategy that allows them to balance financial sustainability with delivering excellent patient care.
Human Resources
Over the next 10 years, it is estimated that the United States will need 51,700 additional medical administrative assistants (Career Explorer). This role would report to a clinic’s medical practice manager, who would manage the clinic’s general HR practices.
These tasks include:
- Scheduling and absences
- Staff management
- Recruitment and hiring
- Performance evaluation and training
- Conflict resolution
Strong communication skills are essential to managing the team that runs a healthcare office. Cultivating a positive work culture reduces employee stress, improves patient care, and increases staff retention over time (Beyot et al., 2024).
Challenges & Useful Tools for Medical Office Managers
With the number of responsibilities that come with medical practice management, healthcare software is a must-have for healthcare organizations.
Here’s a list of some of the essential tools for running a successful medical practice:
- Practice management software (PMS) assists with scheduling, billing, and financial reports, patient records and notes, and communication tools for staff members. For medical office managers, this software covers all aspects of day-to-day operations.
- Telemedicine software is essential to delivering high-quality virtual primary care, which has become increasingly common since the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 Harris poll found that 73% of patients find virtual primary care appealing (Elevance Health, 2022).
- Electronic health record (EHR) software captures patients’ medical history, including immunization statuses, diagnoses, medications, allergies, and lab results. This software is visible across multiple providers, improving the ease of care coordination.
- Human resources (HR) management software assists with staff management, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and scheduling.
- Medical research databases such as PubMed gather and organize biomedical literature for healthcare providers to use as a part of evidence-based practice. These resources give providers a strong understanding of current research and allow patients to make informed decisions about their treatment plans.
- Cognitive assessment software naturally integrates cognitive health into medical clinics, reducing stigma and opening up key conversations around brain health.
How Cognitive Assessment Intakes Add to a Successful Medical Practice
Currently, 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, and that number is projected to rise to 139 million by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Disease International). As this disease becomes increasingly common, the use of cognitive screens in primary care is a necessity for general practitioners.
Creyos’ suite of cognitive health assessments can be easily integrated into patients’ health intakes, and are a simpler alternative to adding extensive, time-heavy cognitive assessments to annual wellness visits. Our cognitive tasks, pre-made protocols, and behavioral health questionnaires get the information providers need without adding additional administrative burden for physicians and staff.
Along with capturing key brain health metrics, our cognitive screens:
- Streamline professional communications
- Build revenue by meeting CMS requirements and being reimbursable
- Reduce administrative load and confusion with an integrated provider portal
- Automatically integrate patient records, simplifying the journey from testing to results
- Ease routine cognitive assessments with scientifically-backed protocols
- Produce easy-to-understand reports for patients and providers
- Prioritize data security by being HIPAA-compliant
Our screening tools address common concerns, such as memory troubles and ADHD. One survey of American adults found that 1 in 4 of them currently suspect that they have undiagnosed ADHD (Association of American Medical Colleges, 2024). Our pre-made, condition-focused protocols provide scientifically backed data to give patients and providers the data they need to have meaningful discussions.
Making Admin Easy for Your Medical Practice
Currently, the time doctors spend on unnecessary administrative work is equivalent to 55.6 million patient visits (Canadian Medical Association). With the right systems and resources, medical practice managers can open up those hours to provide better care for patients—as well as reduce the risk of provider burnout.
Whether your clinic is small or large, successful medical practice management is key to shaking off excess administrative load. Contact Creyos today to discover the role we can play in helping your clinic run smoothly.