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New technologies for the ever-busy emergency medicine departments make sharing resources, archives, and data more manageable than ever before. However, multi-site ownership and management also increase the administrative, economic, and monitoring challenges currently faced by practices of all magnitudes.
Whether your emergency medicine practice is about to open its second location or about its seventh, below are five proven ways to leverage on engaging multiple-location networks:
1. Access from anywhere, anytime
Because the emergency medicine scheduling software is based online, you can access it from anywhere with any device that has a web connection, anytime. Physicians can view their schedules from anywhere, and make changes where needed, drop timely absence notes, and so much more. As a shift scheduling staff, you can quickly review all employee changes and reject or accept them.
2. Staff wisely
A busy practice always has staffing as a challenge. Many practices strive to find dependable and independent employees; it is even harder to keep them from staff poachers who can pay better when their abilities are in high demand. And since you have multiple locations, this becomes an even bigger challenge than initially planned for.
The most straightforward way to solve staffing problems is to retrain and promote already employed medical personnel. Increase the experience levels of your current staff in your practice. Anytime a job vacancy opens up, you already have employees available to fill that position without recruiting externally. You will advertently create a strong workforce with necessary staff training and experience growth.
3. Introduce a standardized operations process
You probably know that you can save financially in your practice by defining standard operating procedures for every service you provide. This is even more useful with multiple locations. Standardization allows for quality control and smooth procedures, along with the ability to improve emergency medicine scheduling in ER practices.
A single operating strategy also allows employees to reduce the margin of error, especially when there is a frenetic pace during work hours. Introducing standards increases workflow and general compliance. You can be sure that each site works the same as with standard operating procedures.
4. Using medical scheduling software For physicians
Having scheduling software in multiple locations can give you a competitive lead in today's market, but that doesn't mean it will be totally void of challenges. Shift scheduling dentists, medical technicians, and machine operators can be much more difficult, especially if the old methods of physician scheduling are still in use.
You can combat this by allowing each physician to suggest their schedules for the scheduling software. Staffing for each location needs to corroborate with the number of patients and physicians for each site. Cross-training is also another option you can benefit from. When the team as a whole is experienced enough to deputize for other might-be-unavailable teams and can individually work in more positions than scheduled, there will be a less felt effect of vacations and unexpected absences.
5. Design services for each location
Conversely, having different equipment and products at different locations isn't always a bad thing. It happens a lot, especially with practices having other locations. You can solve this by introducing a survey by applying the results to that neighborhood. Neighborhoods filled with businesses shouldn't offer the same options as residential districts.
Also, there might be issues of affordability. Certain neighborhoods might not be able to afford certain products and services, so they know which location would fit their bill. This helps increase patient satisfaction. Adjusting your services to a particular location's demographics will surely improve the provision and consumption of those services.
Takeaway
Technology has improved physician scheduling in the emergency medicine department, changed the healthcare environment for the better, and allowed healthcare professionals to offer a health experience far from visiting the office. Therefore, healthcare facilities must strive to provide more quality services by ensuring that all locations are fitted with technologies to increase overall productivity while providing superior services to their patients.
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