Monthly Physician Meeting a Must

I am a STRONG believer that medical practices, whether solo or group, should have a business meeting each month. Generally these meetings take place at the noon hour and last no more that an hour and a half. There should be a written agenda for every meeting.

The first item on the agenda should be “financial”. This would include a review and discussion of the practice financial statements and practice management reports, including a review of the accounts receivable aging, financial ratios, and comparison to specialty/practice benchmarks.

The remainder of the agenda can be devoted to other practice issues, such as human resources, need for capital expenditures, managed care, billing and collection process, and revenue enhancement.

These meetings are a MUST in today’s volatile healthcare environment. There are so many issues that need to be monitored, addressed, and discussed by practice management and its advisors, that failure to have these monthly meetings can only end up hurting the practice in the near and long term.