After my car was in the shop for a few days, I was anxious to get it back. When I arrived to pick it up, my mechanic apologized for the delay in getting my car repaired. He shared with me that it took a bit longer than expected because he noticed that my timing belt needed to be replaced. As I got into my car to leave, I started to think about how bad it could have been if my timing belt had broken unexpectedly while driving somewhere. Even if the rest of my car was working just fine, a broken timing belt would keep me from getting anywhere and possibly caused more damage.
In pediatric practices, workflows have many potential points of failure, so it is critical to continually review them. Frequently looking for parts of the process that could be optimized or that need to be reviewed could help prevent setbacks in the future. While pediatricians may be the engine of the practice, processes like patient check-in and obtaining patient vitals must be conducted efficiently so as not to waste any time, which in pediatrics is critical to the business. Because pediatric practices function as a high volume, low margin business, they are kind of like the “Walmart of Healthcare” requiring that all workflows be as efficient as possible.
This means that any point of failure that sets your practice back and prevents you from seeing patients-greatly impacting your ability to provide a medical home to children as well as the revenue generated for the practice. Taking care to prevent issues before they occur will save your practice time and money.
As you step back to look at all of the processes and workflows that exist within your practice, be very mindful of every change that needs to be made. Look for the points of failure (your practice’s “timing belt”). Before making a change, think about how that change might impact the overall process and what you may need to do to prepare the team for any needed changes. It is important to be attentive to potential collateral damage, too. Points of failure can sometimes be hidden, so keeping your processes and the organization running smoothly depends on finding them and carefully servicing them. A good mechanic must be mindful of all aspects of your car to keep parts from breaking or wearing out. Similarly, a practice leader must examine all aspects of existing processes to find potential points of failure before the broken process(es) cause headaches for you, your team, and your patients.