Creating and Updating an Medical Practice Operations Manual
By: Nila Smith What allows a successful Medical Practice business to open multiple locations and have them be just as successful as the first? Their Policies and Procedures Manual, of course. Policies and procedures are the “formula for success” you have written on how to successfully run your Medical Practice. Let’s face it, from the first day you opened your Medical Practice, you spent a lot of time experimenting and learning some lessons the hard way (unless you’re one of the lucky few who attended the Medical Practice Success Summit before you opened your doors). Along the way, you found what worked and you learned the mistakes you wouldn’t make again. The problem most Medical Practice owners have when they go to open their next location is they never took the time with their first location to write their success stories down. While you might not want to share all of your business strategies with your staff, you should write a policy or procedure manual to highlight how to do things right and what not to do in the future. Start Today & Create as You Grow The thought of creating an operation manual can be quite overwhelming, but its rewards are numerous. First, it is a statement that your business is organized. Second, it defines the general responsibilities for the start-up, management, and specific operation procedures to be followed on a daily basis in your Medical Practice clinics. Third, it is a great way to train new employees, becoming even more valuable when a supervisor is not available to provide a quick answer. There is no “right” way to write an operations manual, as it’s a book written according to how you operate your business. I recommend starting with a list of bullet points you want to include. Then, meet with each department supervisor and create sub-categories to be included. Finally, begin gathering information from every department to expand upon each thing you’ve listed. This is a tedious process because you do not want to omit one step in any of your departmental processes. Flowcharts are a great tool to use to summarize procedures. Once you have created your operations manual, remember it is a living, breathing document. This means you should update it as things are changed.
Sample Medical Practice Operations Manual (Outline)
SECTION A
- Company Mission Statement
- Company Values
- About Us
- History of Company
- Company Corporate Office
- Corporate Office Organizational Chart
- Corporate Office Contact Information
SECTION B
- Initial Training
- Ongoing Training and Support
- Ongoing Research & Development
- Responsibilities To Your Clients/Patients
- Responsibilities To Your Fellow Employees
SECTION C
- Billing
- Credentialing And Contract Negotiations
SECTION D
- Timetable for Clinic Opening
- Site Selection Process
- Site Selection Criteria
- Lease Considerations
- Building Out The Clinic
- Selecting a Contractor
- Signage Specifications
- List of Required Equipment
- Equipment List
- Furnishings List
- Obtaining Required Licenses, Certifications, Permits
- Procuring Required Insurance Policies
SECTION E
- Initial Inventory
- Approved Suppliers
- Medical Supplies
- Office Supplies
- Cleaning Supplies
SECTION F
- EEOC Guidelines in Hiring Employees
- Record Keeping Requirements
- Charge Processing Procedures
- Laws Regarding Harassment
- Wage and Labor Laws
- Profile of Ideal Company Employee
- Recruiting Employees
- Determining Hiring Needs
- Reference Check Procedures
- Reviewing Applications
- The Interview Process
- Job Offer
- Job Descriptions
- Orientation of New Employees
- New Hire Paperwork
- Orientation Checklist
- Employee Handbook
- Scheduling Employees
- Dress Code
- Conducting Evaluations
- Termination/Separation Procedures
SECTION G
- Office Hours
- Daily Office Procedures
- Daily Checklists
- Opening Procedures
- Closing Procedures
- Patient Service Philosophy
- Privacy Practices
- Patient Retention Techniques
- Handling Complaints
- Procedures for Checking In Patients
- Required Paperwork for Patients
- Verifying Insurance
- Reconciling Cash at End of Day
- Product Ordering Procedures
- Conducting Physical Inventory
SECTION H
- Office Safety Hazards
- Fire
- Tornado
- Driver Safety
- Violence in the Workplace
- Blood Borne Pathogens
- Robbery
- Burglary
SECTION I
- Nursing, Lab, And X-Ray Certifications
- HIPAA
- OSHA
- Lab Procedures
- X-Ray Procedures
- Nursing Procedures
- Handling Patient Emergencies
- Safety Of Narcotics
- Immunizations/Overseas Injections
- Lab Procedures
- Daily Lab Technician Duties
- Lab Work Paperwork
- Send-Out Lab Results Policy
- Maintenance Of Clinical Equipment
SECTION J
- Occupational Medicine Certifications
- Understanding Workers’ Compensation
- Protocol For New Patient
- Protocol For Established Patient
- Reporting Findings
- Conducting Drug & Alcohol Tests
- Paperwork/Forms For All Drug And Alcohol Testing
- Procedures For Drug Tests
- Communicating Results
- Equipment Maintenance
SECTION K
- Promoting Company
- Use Of Media
- Growing Positive Word Of Mouth
- Establishing Corporate Clientele
- Mascot
- Determining Effectiveness Of Advertising
- Calculating Advertising ROI
- Internal Advertising Strategies
- Guidelines For Using Company’ Marks
- Required Advertising Expenditures
- Local Advertising Requirement
- Grand Opening Advertising Requirement
- Community & Public Relations
- Obtaining Advertising Approval
- Website Policy
