If you run a healthcare office, your resources are incredibly strained right now. Not only do you have to invest in testing materials for the novel coronavirus, but you must also purchase disposable gowns, N-95 masks, and face shields for your staff. If you have COVID-19 patients, you need even more staff than usual and equipment such as ventilators. On top of these expenses, without voluntary surgeries, you’re losing most of your income. Take these steps to make sure that you keep as much control as possible over your finances.
Keep Track of Charges
Your accountants and receptionists are very stressed right now, but you still need them to accurately bill clients for the services you provide. This is especially true as you begin offering voluntary procedures again. Have your employees doublecheck each other’s charges before giving them to clients, and invest in charge capture software as an extra level of security.
Eliminate Waste in Your Budget
Every penny counts in your budget right now, so you need to eliminate all expenses that aren’t essential to providing patients with the care they deserve. Unfortunately, this probably means that you can’t give your nurses and support staff raises for all the extra work they’re doing. Hopefully, once the pandemic has subsided, you can adjust their compensation to make up for the raise freeze. Additionally, avoid printing as much as possible. This has the double benefit of saving you money on ink and paper and limiting hand-to-hand contact.
Plan for the Future
Thinking about the future is frightening today, when so many things are unknown. While you can’t count on the pandemic ending by any date, you do need to think about your financial future. Are your spending practices sustainable in the long-term? Do you need to dramatically change your operating procedures to stay in business? These are uncomfortable questions to ask in the midst of your stressful workdays, but you must think about them so that you can explore alternative funding sourcese before it’s too late. Perhaps you can apply for extra government funding, or maybe there’s a loan with low interest rates waiting for you. Regardless, you need to keep your office’s future operations in mind as you make your day-to-day decisions.
As a healthcare professional, you don’t know how you’re going to make it through the next few months. By taking these steps, you set yourself up for a sustainable operation now and in the future.
