Are you looking for ways to improve your practice’s bottom line? Do you have space available? It is important that your practice keeps meeting the needs of your patients in the growing competitive environment.
Adding additional services, like ancillary care, to your practice can meet those requirements. It can also differentiate you from your competitors and in turn increase the number of patients.
We take you through why offering ancillary care services is important to your practice and your patients. We also explain what care types can provide the most immediate benefit to you.
Why add Ancillary Care Services?
Simply, they are an added benefit to your patients in terms of convenience. Having these services in the one location means a one stop shop for patients, making your practice more attractive to both current and new patients.
Not only do these services enable you to have greater control over the care you provide to your patients, but it can also reduce the waiting time of providing these services and receiving the results eg. Waiting on medical tests.
Best of all your bottom line benefits. Ancillary Care Services provide a great opportunity to generate additional income.
What Services Should I Offer?
When choosing to introduce a new service, it's important to find one that fits your particular practice and to look at your referrals. You could be making money on each service you've been referring out.
Areas to look at:
- Regularly Out-Sourced Services
What are the services that you most regularly outsource? Is it having prescriptions filled by a pharmacy, referring patients with back pain to a physical therapist, or sending your blood tests go to a pathology lab?
- Patient Demographic
Also look at it from the perspective of your patient demographic. A practice with a growing number of older women might be the right fit for cosmetic services, whereas one with many diabetic patients might focus on counselling for them.
- Implementation Costs
It is important to note that in assessing an Ancillary Care Service as a potential income stream you should also consider the costs involved in implementing this function into your practice. Some ancillary services are expensive and others are cheaper. These costs will have to be assessed in relation to future income streams that will be generated.
Common Ancillary Services
- Pathology
Pathology is a common Ancillary Care Service required by practices. It may be worth investigating whether a Pathology service provider would be interested in renting some space in your premises. This will generally depend on a number of factors including tests your patients require, the number of doctors in your practice, where you are located and if any other pathology centres are located close by.
- Radiology
Similarly with Radiology, if this is a service that your patients regularly require it may be worth approaching radiologists to rent space within your practice.
- Pharmacy
Pharmacies are typically most useful for general practices and can be a valuable addition to complement your service and provide convenience to patients.
Are you in a position to include ancillary care services in your practice? Start the discussion! Keep your patients coming back and your practice ahead of the competition.
Get in touch with BLG Business Advisers online or call (02) 4229 2211.