Your office software is the most important tool you have when it comes to running a practice. More often than not it is not being used to its potential. In many practices software is used to look at historical information. August was a good month for sales or August was a bad month for sales. But seldom do practices use the data that can be generated to make their practice run better and become more profitable.
How to Use Your Software More Effectively
Here are some things you can use your software to make your practice more profitable.
- Monitor closure ratio. Did you know that a 20% improvement in closure ratio will double your net profit?
- Evaluate income by source so you understand where your patients are coming from.
- Evaluate the results of any advertising in terms of the number of calls, booked appointments and return on investment. This will help you create an effective advertising plan in the future.
- Evaluate the results of any marketing activity to determine if the activity was effective. Establish goals for all key areas of your practice. Once established use the software to see if you are reaching those goals.
- Improve the performance of your staff. Set specific goals for your employees. Use your software to monitor whether or not those goals are being met.
- Manage your database, for example, use the software to alert you to when a patient becomes inactive. Since your database is your most valuable asset making sure patients remain active should be high on your list of priorities.
And finally, the expression garbage in garbage out is often used when evaluating the effectiveness of any software program. You can only use your software as a tool if the data being put into it is correct. An example of this would be closure ratio. You can only monitor closure ratio if you record all sales opportunities and then the outcome of each appointment.
Once you begin to use your software to its full potential you will be surprised and pleased at the impact it will have on your practice.