Running a medical practice? Let’s talk about managing risk
Whether you’ve just started a medical practice or are looking to scale and grow, identifying, quantifying and managing risk is critical to success.
In this article, Head of Education and Managing Editor of The Private Practice, Steven Macarounas, reveals why it’s time to examine risk in a whole new light.
Playing it safe v risking it all
“Most men either compromise or drop their greatest talents and start running after, what they perceive to be, a more reasonable success, and somewhere in between they end up with a discontented settlement. Safety is indeed stability, but it is not progression”.
This quote from philosopher and song writer Criss Jam, from his book Killosophy, always gets me thinking about the deeper context of risk within our every day lives – the risk of failure, but also the risk of success.
It also gets us thinking about whether we really get the most out of life by sticking to the ‘tried, tested and true’. Is doing things the way they’ve always been done, going to yield anything exciting, revolutionary, disruptive, transformational?
Let’s talk about disrupting the status quo
Risk taking, need not be foolhardy or devoid of research and planning. The climb up the mountain of success is fraught with danger, and if we don’t want our dreams and goals to be dashed on the rocks below, we should make sure we have done our homework, chosen the right route and have safety nets in place.
Risk taking can start with simply challenging the status quo – and accepting that there could be should be, must be, a better way of doings things that better meets the needs of our patients, clients, colleagues, family and ourselves. Follow this notion with action – structured experimentation with guidance and a framework for measurement, revision and re-setting.
Challenging the status quo with technology
One way medical practices can take a calculated risk and challenge traditional ways of doing things is to leverage new innovations in health technology, which can play a truly transformative role in boosting workflow efficiencyand free up more valuable time to deliver patient-centric care.
This can be particularly effective for a medical practice that is growing quickly, which can often find itself in a situation where it is trying to do more with less, placing increasing pressure on the medical professionals and support staff to keep up.
Prepare yourself for success in your practice
The Private Practice can provide you with specialised education to better understand the business of your practice – its financial and lifestyle challenges, as well as the appropriate strategies, initiatives and relationships to help you excel in your practice and personal life.
To find out more, email Steven Macarounas, Head of Education & Managing Editor steven.macarounas@theprivatepractice.com.au or call 02 9229 3377.
