A Strategic Planning Self-Assessment for Physician Medical Practices

Medical Practice Strategic Planning

Following is an example of my strategic planning self-assessment. The purpose of these self-assessments is to give you a concise checklist of best practices in a physician medical practice (and other healthcare practices for that matter). This checklist follows the Pareto Principle of focusing on the 20% of business practices that get you 80% of the results. Therefore, I don’t claim that it covers EVERYTHING. But it does cover a good percentage of the most important things.

Strategic Planning Checklist

  • We do a strategic planning process at least annually to gather input from key stakeholders and data about our practice and marketplace.
  • We review our mission and vision for the practice.
  • We assess the size and growth of the market for our services.
  • We compare our own “penetration” to the size of the market.
  • We assess trends in managed care and payments and analyze our contracts.
  • We evaluate competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and how we can gain an edge.
  • We assess the strengths and weaknesses of our referral network.
  • We evaluate the depth and breadth of our overall service offerings.
  • We assess the strengths and weaknesses of our marketing.
  • We assess our payers, including our payer mix.
  • We evaluate our clinical utilization rates and quality or care outcomes.
  • We evaluate our internal controls.
  • We evaluate our cost structure and financial ratios.
  • We review our technology.
  • We take a hard look at the patient’s experience, and how to improve it.
  • We assess the capabilities of our clinicians and staff and identify any gaps to fill.
  • We review physician and staff compensation.
  • We assess our risks, compliance, and malpractice insurance.
  • We evaluate our relationship with local hospital(s).
  • We analyze our financial strength, including capacity for debt, days receivables, trends in aging of receivables, collection ratios, and profitability by services.
  • We assess our facility and location, including whether we are located in the optimal zip code/area to serve our desired patient base.
  • We do an overall “Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” or SWOT analysis about our practice.
  • We determine which services and programs to expand, which to defend, and which to exit.
  • We identify the top issues we need to address, and then identify key priorities to address these issues, achieve our vision, and be more competitive and profitable.
  • We set annual performance/financial goals for our practice and develop a plan to achieve those goals.
  • We assign specific accountability to achieve these initiatives, and a communication plan to follow up on them.

After reviewing this checklist, where do you think your physician medical practice stands from a strategic planning viewpoint? Time for a strategic planning retreat?

Strategic Planning Services

Contact REED TINSLEY, CPA today to learn more about our strategic planning services and how we can help your practice thrive.


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