How your Medical Practice is like a Bicycle
We published this paper for National Bike Month. Thinking about how a bicycle works can help you run a better medical practice.
Medical practices vary as much as bicycles do. A practice can be a simple office with one provider, or a complex organization with multiple specialties and practice locations.
A bicycle is a fairly simple machine for transportation or recreation. But it only moves when all of its parts work together. A medical practice works the same way. Each staff member has to do their part, and the practice needs good medical billing software. Without both, the practice cannot reach its financial goals.
Here are the parts of a bicycle and the parts of a medical practice they match.
Frame: the physician
The frame is the base of the whole bike. It holds everything together. The parts attached to it must fit properly for the bike to perform as needed. The frame must be sturdy and also flexible.
This is the physician’s role in the medical practice. Without the doctor, nothing can happen.
Handlebars and brake levers: the practice manager
The handlebars and brake levers give you stability, steering and stopping. They get you to your destination.
For a medical practice, the destination is a successful, financially sound business. An effective practice or business manager is the key to getting there.
Drive train: medical billing software
The drive train is the gears, sprockets, pedals and chain. This is the real machinery of the bike. It lets you go farther and faster with less effort.
Medical billing software does the same for a practice when you use all of its functions. High-quality medical billing software like Iridium Suite by Medical Business Systems lets your staff do more work in less time. You can schedule a free demo.
Lights, reflectors and helmets: HIPAA and OSHA training
Lights, reflectors and helmets are safety necessities in busy, dangerous traffic.
A medical practice can also be busy, and staff may face health hazards. Train your staff on your HIPAA policy, which protects patient information, and on your OSHA policy.
Seat: your office staff
The seat is about support and comfort. A seat that does not fit makes the ride uncomfortable and even painful.
The same is true of the daily operations of your office. The right staff make your days run smoothly. They greet patients, ask how they can help and ask how the patient is feeling.
Putting the parts together
Use the bicycle as a model. When you understand how each part of your practice works, you can make your office more efficient and reach your goals.
Medical Business Systems, the maker of Iridium Suite practice management software, published this paper.
What has changed since this was written
- The HIPAA and OSHA advice still applies. Practices must still train staff on HIPAA privacy and security and on OSHA workplace safety. The HHS HIPAA for professionals pages have the current rules.
- Patients now have a right to fast electronic access to their records. Since April 5, 2021, the information blocking rules under the 21st Century Cures Act require practices to share electronic health information with patients without unreasonable delay. See the ONC information blocking page.