Professionalism of Practice Management

The practice management role has evolved over time to a point where more practices are now seeking to employ professional manager’s to run their business. The initial practice manager positions were originally a mixture of nominal positions; or extended roles of a receptionists or practice nurses; or booking keeping positions. However the role has expanded over the years with increasing levels of responsibility, resulting in practice managers gaining a higher level of respect in the industry.

Some of the key drivers for the development of practice management include:

• The creation of the Australian Association of Practice Managers and its role in promoting the profession and providing professional development support.
• The development of Practice Management courses through UNE Partnerships course.
• The increasing number of larger practices with multi-million dollar budgets.
• The impact of the GST on financial management.
• The next generation of GPs not wanting to spend their spare time managing the business and having an expectation that their practice managers are trained.
• The expansion of management responsibilities in areas such as risk management and occupational health & safety.
• The increasing complexity of funding streams such as Medicare and Practice Incentive Programs.
   

There is a shift in expectation of the practice manager role from transactional management roles to transformational leadership roles.

• Transactional management is the process of completing regular or routine management tasks that are required to run the business.
• Transformational leadership is a process of providing strategic leadership and managing change.

Practices are now looking for practice managers to be more than managers; they are looking for leadership in running their business.
 

In practical terms, for practices to achieve growth in the current environment, they need to focus on developing models of service delivery for chronic disease management that are based on sound business principles. This involves time spent in research, developing networks and partnerships, tracking the performance of the business and building the capacity of the business’s human and infrastructure resources.
 

The challenge for most practice managers is that their time is saturated by transactional tasks and they do not have the capacity to attend to the transformational tasks. If practices want to develop and move forward through the leadership of their practice managers, they need to consider ways in which they can free up the practice manager’s time to attend to the transformational aspects of their role.
 

The level of professionalism of practice managers is on the rise. For practice managers the question is; what investment do you need to make in your professional development to ensure that you have the level of professionalism that your practice requires for the future? Some strategies could include;

• Undertaking further studies such as those offered by UNE Partnerships;
• Delegating transactional tasks so that there is more time to commit to transformational tasks;
• Reviewing your role with your Principals and creating a new job description;
• Establishing a mentoring relationship with an experienced and professional manager;
• Relinquishing your role if you do not have the capacity to meet the expectations of the Principals.

For Principals the question is; do you have a professional practice manager who will lead your business development in the future? Some strategies for developing this role include;

• Investing in the professional development of your existing practice manager;
• Redefining your expectations of the practice manager role;
• Delegating more responsibility and authority to the practice manager, and demonstrating your trust in that delegation;
• Recruiting a practice manager with relevant management qualifications and the skills to develop your business.