Navigating challenges in practice management: 6 takeaways from our webinar with Gary Smith

Practice management ‘guru’ Gary Smith AM unpacked how healthcare practices can avoid common pitfalls and establish systems for success in a webinar with Avant Practice Solutions last week.

With nearly 40 years’ experience in practice management, Smith shared key insights and strategies from his book, ‘Principles of Healthcare Practice Management’, which he co-authored with Colleen Sullivan OAM.

He outlined some of the most critical elements for building an efficient and compliant practice, covering essential topics like establishing operational excellence to creating a culture of risk awareness and accountability.

Let’s look at some of the key takeaways from the webinar.

1. Setting a foundation for operational excellence

One of the biggest practice management takeaways was the importance for practices to establish their vision, mission, values, goals and objectives.

“Once we understand our reason for being, the operational excellence will flow through,” Smith said.

This means practices must continuously evaluate their operations to ensure alignment with goals and objectives.

Smith pointed out that healthcare practices often fall into the trap of continuing systems that have been in place for years, without considering if they’re still relevant.

“Just because we’ve done [something] this way [in the past], it doesn’t make it right; it’s really important that we revisit our systems on a regular basis,” he explained.

2. The 6 pillars of good practice management governance

Smith introduced the six pillars of good governance outlined in his and Sullivan’s book, which he described as the foundation of any well-managed practice:

1. The rules of law – Following legal frameworks for delivering healthcare services
2. Moral integrity – Conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner
3. Transparency – Communicating openly and providing accurate, timely information
4. Participation – Involving key stakeholders in decision-making
5. Responsibility – Addressing the practice’s impact on society and the environment
6. Accountability – Holding all team members, including leadership, accountable.

“…those six pillars I think steer the business clear of financial, legal and ethical pitfalls,” said Smith. Webinar host and Product Adoption Manager for PracticeHub, Anna-Maria Gibb, added that “if any of the six aren’t there, then [your practice] is going to be tipping over…something’s not going to be working correctly.”

3. The 6 key elements of policies and procedures

The backbone of sound practice management is well-defined policies and procedures. Smith outlined six factors to consider when creating a policy and procedure:

1. Purpose and scope
2. Objectives and goals
3. Staff roles and responsibilities
4. How staff must comply and how it will be enforced
5. References
6. Regular revisions and reviews.

4. The danger of poor systems

Smith advised practice managers to avoid the “myth of systems.”

“Some people think that all systems are stand alone, which they’re not. Every system in your practice is linked to something else and if one of the cogs are broken…you’re going to find the system will struggle,” he said, noting that consistent review and updates are crucial.

Smith highlighted that well-designed systems become part of the practice’s DNA, making it easier to manage compliance, reduce errors and avoid variations in how tasks are completed. He gave an example of recalls.

“You can’t have 10 doctors doing recalls in 10 different ways, because that becomes a bad system and we lose accountability, we lose consistency, we lose patient satisfaction, we lose compliance,” Smith said.

5. Risk is “everyone’s business”

One of Smith’s key practice management messages was that “risk is everyone’s business,” not just the practice manager’s. He explained that risk is inherent in everything a practice does and can be minimised by creating a “culture of risk awareness and management.”

By including risk awareness in a practice’s mission and goals, it “create[s] an environment whereby people are willing to put their hand up and…say ‘something’s not right,’” Smith said.

He pointed out that many practices focus too narrowly on clinical or safety risks but overlook broader business risks, particularly reputational damage.

By fostering a “just culture” where staff feel empowered to raise concerns, practices can address risks early and avoid significant consequences, Smith said.

6. Why service standards are critical

Service standards are essential for defining the level of care and responsiveness that healthcare practices offer.

According to Smith, there’s “nothing magic” about service level agreements (SLAs) – they’re simply benchmarks that practices set for delivering consistent customer service.

He offered a practical example of how an SLA could work for handling patient complaints.

An SLA could outline that “I must acknowledge a complaint within three hours, no matter where I am in the world...I’m not solving it, I’m just acknowledging that we’ve got it,” Smith said.

“The next part is the timelines; I will investigate and I'll get back to you on Thursday or next fortnight.”

When designing SLAs, Smith highlighted three key components: timeliness, accuracy and appropriateness.

For instance, a service standard for timeliness might involve ensuring patients don’t wait too long to see a healthcare professional. Accuracy focuses on providing the right information “100% of the time,” while appropriateness ensures that patient queries are answered within a reasonable time frame.

Another crucial factor is understanding the patient’s “zone of tolerance” – the range of service levels a patient is willing to accept. Smith explained that service standards must align with both patient expectations and the practice’s capacity to deliver:

“Once I work out what the [patient’s] expectations are and my ability to deliver, I can then put together a service standard accordingly,” he said.

Your practice’s service standards “really come back to your vision, your mission, your values, your goals and objectives; it's all based around your reason for being.”

Watch the ‘Navigating challenges in practice management’ webinar

View the full webinar to learn even more valuable insights, strategies and tips from Smith’s books: ‘Principles of Healthcare Practice Management'.