8 Effective Time Management Strategies for Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare is one of the most important career fields that exist in the world. People’s livelihoods and overall health depend on experts like you to provide them with the latest and greatest knowledge of the healthcare industry.

Table of Contents:

• Look at Your Long-Term Schedule
• Delegate to Your Coworkers/Staff
• Measure Out Your Day
• Capitalize On the Resources Around You
• Keep Your Patients in the Loop
• Set up a Portal for Your Services
• Stay Focused on Your Tasks
• Always be Accessible

Time Management in Healthcare

Needless to say, how you prioritize your day is vitally important to determining your overall success. You don’t have any time to waste, people are depending on you to come through!

Luckily, there are several great practices to make sure you’re using your time efficiently and time hack throughout your workday.

Here are a few effective time management strategies to consider as you weigh out the best ways to structure your day.

1. Look at Your Long-Term Schedule

One thing that healthcare professionals don’t do enough of is look beyond the day, week, or even month that they’re currently in.

It can be easy to fall victim to living too far in the moment and not having a vision for the long haul. A good exercise for this is to set some goals for yourself to reach in increments.

Set some goals for each of the next 3 months on the schedule. What do you want to have accomplished by then?

Flu season is nearly upon us… what goals can you set to help your patients prioritize for that?

Not only should you set goals for your career, but your personal life as well. Things such as getting to bed earlier and jogging every morning will benefit your career as well.

2. Delegate to Your Coworkers/Staff

Most modern-day workers are afraid of delegating their work to others who can do it for them. They feel as if it shows that they can’t handle their workload… not true!

It shows how much you care. You’re willing to pass around responsibility to your staff in order to best serve your clientele.

This can be a great way to cut out some much-needed extra time for tasks that require your expertise. If another member of your team can accomplish a job, put your trust in them to do so.

3. Measure Out Your Day

With any given workday, there are certain tasks that have to be done by the end of the day. You’ll need to attack those as soon as possible.

Start out each morning by listing all of the accomplishments you need to finish by the end of the day.

Next, prioritize those tasks by organizing them in order of importance. There are always certain tasks that can afford to be pushed off a bit longer than the rest, as long as you finish them by the close of business.

Now, keep that list with you as the day rolls on. Checking them off one by one will help you feel accomplished and give you the buzz you need to keep going.

4. Capitalize on the Resources Around You

Whether you’ve realized it or not, there’s one glowing advantage that you have over those healthcare professionals in the past: modern technology.

Whatever your profession is in the healthcare industry, there are apps and software that can help you prioritize and expedite certain aspects of your job.

Gone are the days of having to comb through each patient’s paperwork to get updated on their health history. Find software that can download all of that information and have it ready to go as soon as you walk into the room.

5. Keep Your Patients in the Loop

One thing that wastes a substantial amount of time is the lack of communication between doctors and patients.

That could easily be avoided if you thoroughly explain every step of the patient’s treatment process to them before providing it.

Naturally, you’ll have those patients who ask way too many questions. But, it will still help you to save several minutes per patient… which means more time to complete tasks.

6. Set Up a Portal for Your Services

What better way to save time with a patient than to meet with them prior to them walking through the door?

You can save precious time on those patients who require a brief checkup by setting up your practice with an online portal service.

Now your clients can give you a quick video chat to check in and see if they really need to come in for a further inspection or just a few tips to get them through to the next appointment.

Payments can be collected through the postal service as well. Not only will you be saving more time, but the administrative side of your practice will be running more efficiently as well.

7. Stay Focused on Your Tasks

Before you go saying “yes” to every coworker who asks for your help, consider how much you already have on your plate for the day.

Many workers think that saying “no” is a sign of being too overwhelmed or too selfish to offer a hand to their coworkers.

While you should always offer help when you can, it’s just as important to let them know when you truly don’t have time to help. If you say “no, ” the coworker will try themselves or ask someone else. No problem!

8. Always Be Accessible

If you find that there aren’t enough hours in your workday to finish the tasks you need to and communicate with your clients, you may need to adjust.

One way that you can do this is by leaving the phone in your locker/desk drawer while completing a task

Let your clients know that you’re always accessible by phone as long as there isn’t something pressing. You can always get back to them after hours to communicate on your drive home.

Install These Effective Time Management Strategies Into Your Day-to-day

Now that you’ve seen a few helpful and effective time management strategies, it’s time to find out what works best for you.

Ready to take control of your time? Contact us to learn how to elevate your healthcare practice.