Most patients within 10 miles of your radiology facility come to you without question for their imaging needs. You've reached the top of your income-earning ability. You've maxed out your market. Now what?
"It's time to consider creating a strategic plan," said Elsa Ozuna-Richards of healthcare marketing and practice management consulting firm REA Healthcare Strategies in Reno, NV. Ozuna-Richards spoke at an American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA) audioconference earlier this year.
However, you don't have to be sitting on top of the radiology world to need a strategic plan, Ozuna-Richards said. Whether your facility operates at the pinnacle of financial prosperity or -- like many facilities these days -- struggles to pinch pennies, a strategic plan helps your business find its focus and earn greater profits.
Where to start
Before you formulate a strategic plan, make sure that you know your practice inside and out. Know it not just from your own perspective, but through the eyes of your employees, shareholders, business partners, and customers. Planning can help everyone in the organization steer it through rocky financial waters and stormy, competitor-tossed seas.
Ensure top-level commitment to the strategic plan process before you begin, Ozuna-Richards said. Nothing should move forward unless the power brokers are involved.
- Allocate adequate time and money to the process and to implementing key components of the completed plan.
- Don't propose any other major moves for at least six months.
- A strategic plan may bring turmoil and change of its own.
When brought together with preexisting challenges, your proposals may get lost in the shuffle -- or worse, tossed aside amid growing angst and worry associated with change, Ozuna-Richards said.
Look to staff for strategic solutions
Alleviate tension by helping staff understand the importance of future planning and encourage their involvement. Their participation in the process increases the likelihood of their investment in its outcomes.
Decide which staff to include as key players on your development team. Ozuna-Richards recommends involving a wide spectrum of representatives from receptionists to physicians, community leaders to volunteers, and topic experts to patients.
Place participants within the appropriate stages of strategic development and create a timeline for their involvement.
Facility leadership should participate in the initial mission- and vision-setting segments of the plan. They may wish to step out of the research and assessment phases, and return during the priority-setting portion of the strategic planning process.
"Before implementation is really (when) you want your staff to be involved," she said.
Define your mission, set your vision
A mission statement summarizes your business values and organization. Vision statements set your company's sights on the future, Ozuna-Richards said.
Create mission and vision statements, and communicate them to your customers and staff. "Hang your mission statement on the wall so you never lose track of it," she said.
One facility that she assisted set its sights on becoming the premiere neurosurgery center in its area.
Stating its mission, the group then focused on all areas of its business to reflect that goal. It reviewed its hiring policy, front-end staff training, and new technologies to ensure that those areas fell in line with the facility's mission.
The neurosurgery unit's vision for the future therefore reflected its overall objective by stating the business' intended goals: "We will be the region's premier practice for all spine and brain procedures."
More about research
Research is critical to strategic development because it is the primary phase of strategic development, Ozuna-Richards said.
How you collect data is as important as the information you gather, she said.
Complete primary research through telephone or mail surveys or one-on-one interviews with individuals. Be consistent. Develop a script to ensure that surveyors ask similar questions. Allow for anecdotal information at this stage, but aim to gather statistical data to compile for use later on.
Secondary research completed via database, the Internet, or industry associations also helps create a comprehensive overview of how your business fits into the larger industry.
Select a strategy
Put all of these collected data to good use. Define your facility's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to market growth, Ozuna-Richards said.
Develop strategies to capitalize on your strengths. Look for growth opportunities to handle perceived flaws and threats to your financial viability.
"Match opportunities with weaknesses," she said.
For example, one weakness may be location. Perhaps your business lies outside of the comfortable commuting zone for patients in a developing community. Opening a second facility there or creating a shuttle service from that area may prove to be a previously unexplored opportunity.
Set priorities
You've gathered all of these great ideas about how to expand your influence and increase your business' bottom line, Ozuna-Richards said. Unfortunately, neither the money nor the time exists to implement them all.
"Focus and get your priorities in order," she said.
Pool the various strategies and take a diplomatic approach to selecting objectives, she suggested. This way, everyone owns a piece of the strategic plan process and participates in the company's success.
Include both short- and long-term objectives in your priorities. Couple goals with a timeline and describe how and when things must get done.
Think of short-term goals as steps leading to accomplishing long-term objectives.
For example, if you set one of your long-term goals on networking with area physicians, then your short-term targets should include items to get you there. Actions such as joining regional chambers of commerce, hosting an educational series, and launching an advertising campaign all lead to increased networking, Ozuna-Richards said.
Focus on achievable goals based on your mission, and integrate the plan so each element supports the next priority. This creates momentum for the proposal to propel itself -- and your business -- forward.
Guarantee that the strategic plan doesn't become a static document by holding monthly strategy meetings. Revisit the plan three months from the time it's solidified, and refine your strategic plan annually.
The final strategic step
The best plans establish measurable returns to short- and long-term goals, Ozuna-Richards said.
Monitor and evaluate your progress as you accomplish the goals shaped by your strategic plan.
For example, ask referring physicians how they heard about you. Document the number of patients you gained due to your various short-term goals (e.g., joining area chambers of commerce). Also set a rate of growth that you expect from each short- and long-term goal at the outset.
Determine how much you wish to grow annually and the percentage of growth that you need to maintain your current profit margin, staff, and so on.
Reaping the strategic benefits
Expect enormous payback from your strategic plan, Ozuna-Richards said. She believes you'll find that your business and employees will:
- Spend more time on high-impact activities.
- Understand true opportunities.
- Become more dedicated to the business.
- Adapt quickly through change and innovation.
- Be proactive instead of reactive.
Today's customers operate differently from those of a decade ago, Ozuna-Richards said. With the Internet and a multitude of products available at their fingertips, customers search for something better, special, and just for them.
A strategic plan helps you determine what special service you provide and focuses attention on it for all potential customers to see.
To be successful, you need to complete a strategic plan and use it, Ozuna-Richards said. "Eighty-percent of strategic plans sit on the shelf. Don't let that happen to you," she said.
By Melissa Varnavas
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
April 27, 2006
This article originally appeared in the "Radiology Administrator's Compliance & Reimbursement Insider," a monthly newsletter published by HC Pro that is designed specifically for radiology administrators. For a free trial subscription, please click here.
Related Reading
Marketing to patients: What you need to know, March 14, 2006
Referral physician relationships drive imaging center success, November 25, 2005
Successful customer service requires scrutiny, October 17, 2005
Service blueprinting maps path to excellence, August 26, 2005
Strong customer relationships: Building a competitive advantage, June 6, 2005
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