Where do you picture your dermatology practice heading in the next five years? What about the next 10 or 20? Having a plan for the future of your dermatology practice can help you take the necessary steps to achieve your objectives. Whether you are new to the industry or have been in it for a while, setting long-term goals is essential to keeping you on the path to future success.
Visualizing what you want in the long term for your practice will allow you to build the right team who will work with you to make your plans a reality. Your efforts to achieve your objectives can help you find success with your practice and keep your dermatology patients under reliable care.
Learn how to grow your practice by setting long-term intentions.
How to Set Long-Term Goals for Your Dermatology Practice
You want to position your practice in a way that helps it grow. You could follow various strategies, but setting long-term objectives is vital if you want to see specific outcomes. Goal-setting is critical when a business's overall objective is to grow. You can create and follow long-term goals to help grow your private dermatology practice.
Here are five ways you can begin goal-setting for growth:
1. Identify Objectives
Every successful practice begins with identifying and setting goals. You must paint a clear vision for what you want to achieve, whether it includes an exit, retirement, expansion or selling plan. When you have a concrete objective, you can break down the steps required to help you achieve it.
Identifying your practice's objectives will create a common focus for your partners and employees to work toward. Reaching your desired outcome takes consistent planning and implementation. When you create goals, ensure they are achievable and practical for your future.
Create a list of your goals to help you see how many you can focus on in the given year and beyond. Build a goals list for two years and five years to consider your long-term trajectory. You may even choose to plan for the next decade.
Your objectives should be SMART — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. Following the SMART goals approach gives your business more structure to ensure you can achieve your goals to grow.
2. Set Your Goals
Once you have a list of all the goals you envision for your practice, it is time to choose your priorities. You can have many objectives to improve your business, but focusing on the ones you can work on now is key. Work with your team to determine realistic and achievable goals that will offer a stable foundation for the long term.
If you have big goals for your practice, you can break them into smaller ones that are more attainable and meaningful in the present. You will continue to work toward completing the overall goal as you achieve each small one.
These smaller goal segments will depend on the goals you set. For example, you might set a goal of increasing patient retention for the year. A smaller goal could be introducing a new post-appointment item, like sending a mailer thanking your patient for a visit and reminding them to follow up.
Many practices may define objectives that last for 12 months and develop plans and strategies to meet each objective. Breaking your goals into monthly or yearly periods can make them more attainable for completion.
3. Create a Plan to Track and Measure Your Progress
A measurable plan is vital when you want to achieve your long-term growth goals for your practice. When you decide on a goal to accomplish, keep track of the steps you take to get there. You can write out your plans for tackling the goal and set deadlines to check in with your team to see how well they are progressing.
Every goal also needs a time-sensitive deadline to help you remain focused on your long-term objectives. If you want to grow your practice five years after opening, what can you do in the timeframe to help you gain more clients or open another building? Monitoring your progress and completing smaller goals first can help you and your team feel rewarded.
While planning for the future, focus on goals that can enhance your brand, business and services for years. The dermatology industry will continue to change, but your commitment to patient experience and growth remains constant. You can create goals that will help your practice in the long run. Begin your plans by reviewing the processes completed in the past, focusing on what did and didn't work.
You can learn from your past and find other areas that could use improvement. For instance, consider the current tools you use for everyday practice operations, from the payment collection process to the apps and portals you and your patients use. Do any of your procedures have room for improvement? Creating a goal focusing on in-house improvement can help your practice become more efficient for your patients.
Growth options for your practice can also be of varying significance. While you can develop new processes for payment collection, you can also offer additional services that provide personalization for the patients. Your marketing strategy plays a role in obtaining more leads and conversions for your practice. Reevaluate your marketing efforts to see where and what you can change to have a more personalized approach.
5. Partner With a Practice Management Company
You can also drive growth by partnering with a practice management company that offers capital and administrative support. A practice management company works with existing dermatology practices to help them focus on their patients while providing support on the back end. When you work with a practice management company, the company manages your everyday operational and administrative tasks to help you have more time to provide excellent service to your patients.
Practicing medicine and growing your practice are two demanding jobs, and managing them as a single person may overextend your time and focus. A practice management company can provide a reprieve from your extensive responsibilities. These companies offer benefits such as:
- Dedicated marketing teams
- Reputation management
- Hiring resources to support expansions
Practice management companies can also help you plan the next steps for your practice, whether you want to retire, expand or plan your exit strategy. You can work with your practice management company to develop plans that help you streamline the process. Many companies offer planning services for:
- Exit strategies
- Selling your practice
- Retirement planning
- Expanding your practice
At DermCare Management, we offer those services and provide unique management expertise to meet your practice's needs. Our services will streamline your operational and administrative duties, ensuring you have more time to spend with patients to deliver excellent care. We also provide sales and marketing support for dermatology practices. DermCare offers the tools, assistance and capital required to help you meet your long-term goals.
Contact DermCare Management
Plan the next steps for your dermatology practice with the help of practice management services from DermCare. We provide comprehensive, operational and administrative support to dermatology practices while allowing you to maintain complete clinical autonomy and control over how and when you practice. Your legacy is safe with us. You keep your branding and loyal following and stay heavily involved in the decision-making process for various growth initiatives.
To learn more about our practice management services, contact us online or call us at 844.633.9358 to speak with us confidentially today.