Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast. And I’m your host, Kayla Das.

In today’s episode, Genevieve Drummond will share how to leverage technology to grow your practice. Hi, Genevieve, welcome to the show. I’m so glad to have you here today.  

Genevieve: Thank you so much for having me. My name is Gene Drummond, and I am the CEO and founder of Hummingbird Clinical Consulting. I founded my consulting agency after a career as clinician and clinical director. And our company mission is really to improve healthcare accessibility and patient outcomes, reduce clinician burnout, as well as improve patient and staff retention.

We offer a range of services and solutions to help our clients achieve their goals such as coaching, consulting, marketing, and media, as well as health programs.

Kayla: Amazing. From your experience, what are common challenges that arise when trying to build and grow private practices?

Genevieve: Yeah, that’s a great question. So some of the common challenges we see working with private practices include a lack of clarity in the practice mission and goals. And this can lead to scenarios where there’s either poor team communication or that their team members are disengaged from the practice and their desired outcomes.

Another challenge that we see is either insufficient systems or automations that will be hindering either practice efficiency or their ability to grow.

And the next challenge that comes to mind is inadequate team structure. So, we would see this as a scenario within our practice where maybe there is misalignment of team members strengths, and again, we’ll often see low staff engagement and a higher turnover in this scenario.

And the next challenge would be poor communication. So, this could be poor communication with the patients. In this case, we would see either a low patient retention or increased attrition. And this is usually due to patients’ health concerns not being met or the communication between the value that the practice will provide that patient isn’t being clearly communicated.

And the last challenge that comes to mind is just in a practice management, so I find that health care providers and leaders face challenges and clinical management and ways to streamline employee performance. And this will often result in longer working hours in overtime and charting after clinical day.

Again, we go back to poor staff retention if they’re disengaged. And this, unfortunately, can also compromise patient care and increase clinician burnout.

Kayla: It sounds like there’s many challenges that could arise.  

Genevieve: There are many challenges that arise and what I usually say is it ends up in one of two buckets. There are either systems challenges, and we can optimize that through the implementation of technology, and workflows and automations.

Or there is a people system challenge, and that can happen in a variety of different ways. If their needs are not being met or they’re not being properly valued within the practice. And so we kind of want to be able to leverage technology to support both areas of a practice, because they are so important to the ecosystem and the success of that practice.

Kayla: That makes sense. Are there specific systems or workflows that might be helpful for listeners to consider when integrating technology into their practice?

Genevieve: Yes, so I think Integrating technology into your practice really does involve careful planning just to be able to improve your operations and really to align with your goals or your vision for your practice. So some key considerations that I would have is performing a needs assessment and doing some goal setting.

So identifying current process pain points. And then set some goals for those improvements. I would also consider a data management system that is secure. So that is HIPAA compliant as you’re searching.

The next key consideration that comes to mind is workflow mapping. So being able to analyze workflows to identify opportunities for automation, either integrating that within your existing system, or looking for another system that will fit your needs.

And then the last consideration that I would have to mention is staff training and engagement. So really involving your team with your technology selection to ensure that everybody’s aligned and that their administrative and clinical needs will be met and then being able to provide training on that technology system, as well as having a process in place to gather feedback from the individuals involved in these new workflows.

And then my second point here would just be some technology features and then their outcomes just to consider as you’re looking to leverage technology to grow.

So one of the outcomes that I speak often with my clients about is improving accessibility. And one way that we can do that. Is implementing features such as online booking, telemedicine, or telehealth capabilities, as well as either, E labs or E prescribing just to improve patient care and accessibility of those patients.

The next outcome would be improved communication. So implementing features such as digital intake forms or surveys, as well as billing features that are either automated or that are able to be serviced online, help to reduce redundant work tasks within a clinic, as well as enhance your business performance.

The next outcome I would talk about is retention. So, technology features such as automated appointment reminders or patient engagement tools such as patient portals or automated feedback tools really help to boost patient response and engagement as well as retention.

And my last outcome and technology feature would be to choose a system that has proper business monitoring. And so you would see this in features such as reporting for that practice. Enabling you to track key performance indicators and metrics that are the most important for that practice. Things like patient retention or initial patient conversion this really just enables a practice leader to make informed decisions when they have to make changes within a workflow or a process in that clinical setting.

Kayla: Those are really great points, and it makes me think of Jane App. And I know that we are both ambassadors for Jane, and listeners know how much I love Jane. So pretty much everything you identified is something that Jane offers in their practice management software.

And the other thing that I think is really important too is that you mentioned that data software should be HIPAA compliant, which of course is really important for American listeners.

But also, for Canadian listeners, it’s important that your data software is PIPEDA compliant. And what’s great about Jane App is that it’s both HIPAA and PIPEDA compliant. So regardless if you’re American or Canadian, it’s a software that follows privacy legislation in both countries. :

Genevieve: And Jane also has really robust data security and data privacy measures, which is something that we can talk about as well.

But it is a robust system that really protects both the provider and the patient. And it’s something I talk to my clients about because even though it is a cloud-based service, it invested heavily in data compliance. Which is something that we talk about often.

Kayla: Yeah, and we can’t stress enough how important it is for healthcare providers to ensure that they are compliant with privacy legislation. Because this is our patient’s health records that’s being stored.

So if you’re interested in learning about Jane App, I’ve added a link in the show notes. Also, if you use a promotional code EVASPARE1MO upon sign up, you’ll receive a one-month grace period on your Jane App account.

So Genevieve, how can technology help therapists grow their practice? And what types of technology should therapists focus on first?

Genevieve: Yeah, so, technology can significantly enhance a therapist practice by improving things like client engagement, streamlining tasks, or even just expanding their services.

So, some key areas to focus on would be to include enhanced accessibility, and we talked a little bit about that, but incorporating things like a telehealth platform really helps to attract clients through virtual sessions.

Another key area to focus on would be increasing efficiency. So the great thing about Jane App is that it is an EHR and a practice management software.

So you can improve your organization and reduce errors as well as automate a lot of your administrative and clinical functions like scheduling and billing as well as streamline tasks like charting and treatment plans.

Another, area to focus on here, which is a little bit out of the clinical management, and administrative workflow side, but would be to focus on your marketing and outreach.

And when I talk about this, I really try to encourage my clients to improve their web presence and to have a patient centric website that is both user friendly but very informative. And I find that it helps to build trust with that patient prior to them even coming into the clinic. And so you can implement a social media campaign or even just as simple as just keeping up to date with your social presence. So sharing things like your expertise, articles or tips or tidbits about your services and how you’re connecting with your clients or patients online.

The next point that I would focus on here is Improving client outcomes and how certain technology features that you could implement within your practice could help with that. So being able to track patient progress through features like treatment plans or surveys where you can measure outcomes can be really useful.

And then the last point here to focus on would be expanding your services. So we talked a little bit about telemedicine, but you can also offer things like group sessions online or community workshops through some of these technology features. And again, that just really helps to expand your services as you grow, but enhances accessibility as well.

Kayla: Do you have any additional tips or advice for listeners regarding leveraging technology in their practice?

Genevieve: Yes, so first I will answer this question as far as implementation tips. So my first recommendation would be to address any urgent needs you have in your practice.

So if you have current challenges or workflow processes or issues within your practice that need to be addressed right away, essentially to lean on technology to provide you with the solutions that you need. right away.

The next tip I would have is just to ensure security compliance and we spoke about that. So choosing a system like Jane App that will provide security for your practice as well as your patients is extremely important.

And then my next implementation tip is just to invest in staff training. And so if you are leveraging technology, you really do need to invest. in your team so that they understand how to use a new system or how you can leverage your existing system through your team to reach the outcomes that you want to attain.

Some of the key strategies that I would talk about here, and we spoke about investing in an EHR. When it comes to Jane App you’re really investing in a system that is going to meet your current and your future needs because it has so many different types of features that can be used in a variety of different ways to improve workflows as well as improve task delegation.

I spoke about a patient centric website and social media presence, and maybe I’ll touch on that a little bit again, but more in depth. I spoke about how it’s really important to build trust and educate your clients before they even step foot through the door, and we often see that when c lients or patients feel valued from the very beginning. They are more likely to adhere to recommendations of care and the retention of the practice is often a lot higher and that really starts before they even step foot through that door.

So having content on your website that is high quality and research based is important. Again, connecting those clients’ main concerns with the treatments or services that you have within your practice.

Technology features such as AI chatbots are really beneficial for better interaction with your end client or patient, as well as patient education guides on your website and FAQs that are searchable. So those would be my top tips for a patient centric website.

And then again, a social media presence doesn’t need to be Influencer status or tons of followers, it really is to keep you current and show your patient coming into your practice that you are community involved. It can really strengthen client trust. And so, activities just like regular engagement and health tips can be really valuable. And just some educational content. It doesn’t need to be complicated and just to keep that up to date.

And then the last strategy I would have to mention is just staff and patient engagement. So you can use technology to launch things like online seminars and health programs. It can enhance communication strategies for engagement, both within a clinical setting, as well as the communication that you have between your team and your patients.

As well as using automated feedback processes to help understand your patient’s concerns and be able to make changes effectively and efficiently. I think kind of the overview of these strategies and implementation tips that we talked about, they really help to enhance the visibility of your practice and improve the relationships that you have with your patients and overall, really just help to leverage technology to enable you to grow effectively.

Kayla: I love that. Genevieve, you provide a service that can help listeners leverage technology in their practice. Could you tell us what it is and how it can help listeners?

Genevieve: Yes, so we offer a comprehensive 360 practice analysis and this really helps us identify any pain points or challenges within an operation or a clinical practice so that healthcare leaders can make changes accordingly and efficiently.

We offer this service as a consulting call, and it’s an initial session that we will have with healthcare leaders or clinical directors. And we will review a comprehensive intake and then make recommendations for either further analysis where needed and produce a roadmap to help them achieve their goals.

And we will go through clinical, financial, and prior sales and marketing analysis to really identify those pain points and then opportunities for growth.

Kayla: Amazing. So to sign up for Genevieve’s 360 analysis, check out kayladas.com/genevievedrummond360.

Also, like I mentioned, if you’d like to check Jane app, head to kayladas.com/jane and use a promotional code evaspare1mo up on sign up to receive a one-month grace period on your Jane account.

Or you can simply scroll down to the show notes and click on the links.

Genevieve, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today to discuss how to leverage technology in our practices.

Genevieve: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been wonderful.

Kayla: And thank you everyone for tuning in to today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on the Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time, bye for now!

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

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