Smart GP surgeries should continuously look for ways to save money and lower practice expenses. Fortunately, there are countless ways to cut medical costs without sacrificing the quality of patient care. To give you some ideas, here are four ways for GP surgeries to reduce expenses:
1. Use Patient Portals
Modern GP surgeries have a wide variety of technology at their disposal that can be utilised to cut operational costs. In particular, patient portals can decrease employee workload and eliminate the need to hire additional staff. Online portals allow patients to book appointments online, access medical records, and get advice on various medical queries. This reduces the amount of time your administrative staff need to spend answering the phones and allows them to focus their time on other essential work tasks. Having access to online portals is also extremely convenient for patients and improves the level of care they receive. If you decide to implement a patient portal in your practice, then be sure to provide your team with thorough training on how to use the system. You must also have a plan in place to educate your patients on the benefits of using an online portal.
2. Order Supplies in Bulk
GP surgeries tend to have regular deliveries of medical supplies such as medication, bandages, and other medical disposables. Consolidating orders through one supplier will help surgeries to negotiate better fixed discounts and maximise their buying power. This method will also enable staff to manage stock levels and deliveries more efficiently which can substantially reduce admin time for both the procurement and accounts department, thus creating a simple and effective way to cut overhead costs. GP practices may also need to invest in medical equipment such as a diagnostic test machine to improve their services and patient care. Surgeries should also speak with their dedicated Account Manager, to discuss the possibility of additional discounts on large one off purchases. A good Account Manager will contact manufacturers and suppliers to negotiate additional reductions on large orders which can result in further savings passed on to the surgery. Again, this is an easy way to control expenses and reduce practice costs.
3. Hire Healthcare Assistants
Hiring healthcare assistants can help take the workload off qualified nurses and doctors and ensure that these healthcare professionals are engaged in clinical rather than administrative tasks. Trained healthcare assistants can also carry out simple clinical procedures in practice, such as vaccinations and asthma tests. This allows more experienced staff to focus on complex medical procedures that require a qualified specialist.
4. Reduce Operational Costs
There are dozens of ways for GP surgeries to reduce their operational costs. For example, adopting green habits in the workplace can be a reliable way to cut your practice’s utility bills. You can easily reduce energy costs by upgrading to eco-friendly appliances and educating your staff on the importance of sustainability in the workplace. Switching to digital processes and making your surgery paperless will also help to lower carbon emissions, reduce waste, and slash expenses. Storing patient records electronically is also far more secure than keeping sensitive data stored in physical filing cabinets within your practice. Another simple way to lower operational costs is by covering employee absence without the need to bring in external staff. Locums are extremely expensive, so GP practices should always try to cover employee sickness or holiday with other members of their team.
