Services
› Practice EstablishmentPractice Establishment
Entering into private practice can be a daunting experience. Clients have often told us that they did not study medicine to become a boss, builder, designer, accountant, computer expert, and the list goes on. We can assist you from the very beginning from choosing a location right through to seeing your first patient, and even then we can have as little or as much ongoing input into your practice as is required.
Rooms Design & Construction
The right design for your practice is vital to be able to function efficiently and effectively. Expensive mistakes can be made at this time and it is important that your architects and builders understand all the functions of your practice. At Brooke Consulting Group we understand this from a practice managers’ perspective and have a team of contractors who work on your project with your business functions in mind. Our builder delivers superior quality projects on budget and on time. Selecting furnishing and medical equipment in conjunction with our interior designers helps you choose a look and feel for your practice. We project manage the process from start to finish and deal with council throughout the DA process. The client can have as little or as much input into the project as desired. The project is fully costed, budgeted and documented before you go ahead, this assists in obtaining finance for the project.
Business Structure & Planning
In conjunction with your accountant and lawyers, or ours, we will assist you to determine goals and objectives for your practice for the short and long term. We will assist you in registering your business name and establishing a corporate structure. We can assist you to develop strategies for growth and change.
Financing & Budgeting
We all know that establishing your practice is going to demand an outlay of funds. We can assist you in budgeting for your project and sourcing the best deal for financing. Once in practice we will assist you in developing and maintaining systems of accounting, setting sustainable income and expenditure budgets and structure patient fee setting.
Recruitment & Training
Finding the right team to employ in your practice is essential. We can assist you in recruitment, induction and training of all your staff. We work with you to design sound job descriptions that match the functions of your practice. We can assess your current staff and perform regular performance reviews and appraisals. This way we can identify areas of need and plan staff training accordingly in order to develop your staff further. We can assist you in establishing a salaries budget and we can administer your payroll for you, on or off site.
Marketing
Informing your patients and referring practitioners that you are about to commence practice is fundamental. A marketing plan will be specifically designed for you to catch your target market, from announcement letters and brochures right through to opening party functions. If you are already in practice, we can assist to attract new business, along with nuturing existing clients and referrees.
Computer Software & Hardware
One of the most crucial purchases in the practice will be the practice management software. This purchase will manage your financial and clinical data, along with correspondence, and appointments, so it needs to be carefully selected to ensure it covers your current and future needs. Consideration needs to be given to ensure the software easily handles all functions of your practice, along with its ease of use for current and future staff. We believe you should avail yourself of the latest technology to simplify the administration of your practice and we work closely with our hardware supplier to provide you with the latest hardware options to ensure smooth interaction between hardware and software, along with back up, monitoring and maintenance of the IT system.
Risk Management
Managing risk is important in any practice. Therefore ensuring policies are in place to decrease risk is essential. Policies such as recalling patients, adequate patient results monitoring policy, “did not attend” patient protocols, OH & S, and adequate insurances – business insurance, professional indemnity insurance and workers compensation. We can assist you in managing your risk and decreasing your liabilities.
Amalgamation & Change Management
Merging with another practitioner or practice can be challenging. We will assist you in assessing the viability and risk of the amalgamation. We will assist with implementing strategies for change to ensure a smooth transition for practitioners, staff and patients.
Practice Reviews & Assessments
Practice Audits are a useful tool to assist you in identifying problem areas in your practice. You may know that your practice is not running as smoothly as you would like but may not be able to identify exactly what is wrong. Most times a fresh set of trained eyes can help expose the strengths and weaknesses and recommend areas of need. Comprehensive reports are prepared after we have spent time on site with your practitioners, staff and patients. This report suggests practical corrective solutions which we can implement, or assist your staff in implementing.
Operational Systems
You can have the best designed practice and highly efficient staff but if operational systems are not in place your practice will not function to the best of its ability. Systems on a grass root level need to be in place for areas such as managing the day to day operations of the practice, in order to ensure everyone is heading in the same direction and working as a cohesive team. We can establish these systems for you whilst your practice is being constructed, or if you are already practicing, we can come on site and assess your current operational systems and implement improvements on your current systems.
Practice & Procedures Manuals
One of the most important administration documents in your practice will be your Practice Manual. This document assists your staff in how you would like your practice to be run. It will take potential and existing employees from the start of the day when they first unlock the door of a morning, through to locking the door at the end of the day. We custom design a Practice Manual to suit your practice needs.
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Most practices will find that they need to remit their BAS to the ATO quarterly, sometimes monthly. This requires your accounting systems to be up to date on a regular basis. We can train your staff in MYOB and QuickBooks especially for the medical practice, or we can arrange a bookkeeper to keep your books up to date, either at your offices or ours.
Medical Billing
When you are first starting out, or maybe you only work a small portion of your time in private practice, you may not be equipped to efficiently produce and follow up your hospital patient billing. We can have all your medical billing taken care of for you, including chasing any bad debts. You can deliver your billing information in paper or electronic format and we will produce the invoice, post the invoice, receipt the payments and bank the receipts on your behalf. We can also offer the option of handling EFTPOS facilities on your behalf. As the billing requirements of Medicare and the Health Funds have become more and more complicated why waste time in raising the invoices yourself. We can also produce Informed Financial Consents prior to surgery for your patients if you desire.
Managed Serviced Rooms
Brooke Consulting Group has managed rooms across metropolitan Sydney that are available on a Sessional basis. You are welcome to provide your own staff or we will provide staff for you. All areas of reception, billing, appointment scheduling, typing and practice management can be taken care of, including answering your telephone. We can invoice, receipt and bank on your behalf as well as chase up outstanding accounts. We can establish a VPN (virtual private network) so you can connect to our server to look at your bookings, check your correspondence waiting for signing, or just have a look at your earnings.
Short & Long Term Assignments
Sometimes you may find you only require help in the short term, whether it is to relieve your secretary at annual leave time, or assistance at the end of each quarter to gather your documents and produce your BAS. We are able to offer short and long term assignments for all staff in your rooms, typists, receptionists, secretaries and practice managers. If you would like your work taken off site we can arrange this as well.
