Embracing More Data: How Technology is Improving Practice Management Reports

Big data. Cloud computing. Machine learning. Artificial intelligence.

It’s hard to go a week without reading some technology news headline with one of these buzzwords. But what does it all mean?

One thing is for certain. Technology today is allowing us to analyze and learn more from our data than ever before. This is exciting news for doctors in private practice.

Financial Data in Private Practice

Financial data is used by all businesses, big and small, to guide their decision making. An independent healthcare practice is no exception.

In choosing private practice, you take on the responsibility for staying aware of the operational and financial health of the business. If you want your business to thrive, you need to learn how to read and trust what the data is telling you.

Data helps us remember the past, make sense of the present, and make decisions that will affect the future. Without it we are blind.

What Makes A Good Practice Management Report?

Regardless of how it’s done, a good practice management report should be relevant and provide context.

Show Data Relevant to Your Practice

No two practice management reports will be identical because the needs and financial goals of each practice are unique. Of course, some common metrics like gross charges, net receipts, accounts receivable, and number of new patients will probably be applicable and of interest to all doctors. But a relevant practice management report should cater to your situation.

For example, if I was working to reduce my overhead this year, I might want my practice management report to break-out my spending habits. And if I had just opened a new office, my ratio of advertising spend to new patient acquisition might be of particular interest.

Show Data in Context

No matter what metrics your practice management report focuses on, it should always give a comparison. Data without context is useless. You need multiple ways to compare data in order to give it meaning.

Most reports will show metrics for the current month, year-to-date, and compare each of those to the same period last year.

Finally, benchmarks will breathe even more life into your practice management report. You might be doing better than last year, but still underperforming compared to your industry peers.

Going Beyond the Numbers

Reporting numbers on a spreadsheet is good, but charts are even better.

Charts and graphs give us powerful ways to spot trends and diagnose problems. They paint a more comprehensive picture of what’s going on in the business.

Recently, we’ve started creating practice management reports in the form of interactive online dashboards for the doctors we work with. They are being used to spot business trends and make strategic decisions easier and more intuitive than ever before.

These interactive digital dashboards are able to show trends across many years in a user-friendly format. Multiple KPIs can be shown side by side on the same page, and internal goals and industry benchmarks can be plotted right alongside current data.

Data That Works For You

You may not be working with “big data” to analyze your business, but you should have a practice management report that works for you.

It’s one thing to have the numbers. But another to present it in a report that gives context and meaning.

Ultimately, doctors need to have practice management reports that help them make the right decisions. With our online interactive dashboards, we hope that it becomes just a little bit easier.