How to Develop a Strategic Plan for Your Medical Practice

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Originally Posted On: https://greatlakesadvisory.com/how-to-develop-a-strategic-plan-for-your-medical-practice/

For those that find themselves with more free time during these difficult times, we recommend that our clients make productive use of this extra capacity. Before the global health crisis, it was challenging for physicians to pause during the day-to-day work of treating patients for business planning initiatives. Many practitioners are overworked and view these tasks as an inefficient use of their time. Strategic planning will not reduce the mountain of charts you need to complete or increase tomorrow’s collections. However, you need a roadmap to scale or create positive change at your organization effectively. Use this free time as an opportunity to plan for the future. Consequently, your clinic will be in prime position for future growth once we return to normal.

What is the structure of a strategic plan? A strategic plan contains the following components:

• Executive Summary
• Mission and Vision
• S.W.O.T. Analysis
• Goals, Priorities, and Strategies

Begin by analyzing the current state of your medical practice through a S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis. We provided a list of self-reflecting questions below to help get started.

• Strengths:
  • Why do patients pursue care at your practice?
  • What does your practice perform better than local competitors?
• Weaknesses:
  • Are there deficient areas of your practice?
  • What limitations of your practice would provoke patients to seek treatment elsewhere?
• Opportunities:
  • Is there an unfulfilled demand for a procedure or treatment plan within your region?
• Threats:
  • What internal and external factors prevent you from reaching your goals?

Once you analyze your competitive position in the market, define your practice’s mission. The Mission Statement summarizes the core values and purpose of your organization.

The Vision Statement is concise and paints a picture of what your business looks like at the end of your strategic timeline. Curate a vivid narrative that describes how you envision your organization evolving over the next three years.

Develop a list of objectives that align with fulfilling the vision. As you craft your strategic objectives list, consider the questions below:

• What resources are required to accomplish this objective?
• Do we have an appropriate staffing infrastructure to execute our target?
• From the patient’s perspective, what value does he/she receive?
• What is the financial impact?

Schedule a mandatory meeting with all partners and employees to review the list. Narrow the list to four objectives that contribute to the most significant impact on your mission and vision. Now, write out the specific and tangible action items required to reach each goal. For each aim, define explicit measures to track the progress of the four objectives.

Finally, write a 30-second elevator speech of your strategic plan. The Executive Summary communicates the future direction, priorities, and impact of the strategic plan. Save yourself time by writing this section last, as it is easier to summarize the other components once they are complete.

Do you need guidance on writing your strategic plan? Schedule a complimentary consultation today: Schedule Now