How To Address a Staffing Shortage with Automation
Is your staffing shortage top of mind?
Automation can help. 
When your practice is experiencing a staffing shortage, how do you keep doctor schedules full and appointments up? Automation can help.
2-minute read
According to 2022 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health services was a clear frontrunner in the category of labor shortage by industry. In fact, the healthcare industry is experiencing the highest labor shortage gap in the market today.
Not exactly a category that you or I want to be part of, right?
When your team isn’t running at 100% capacity, how do you keep doctor schedules full and appointments up? Sophrona can help. Finding opportunities to automate within the practice can increase productivity, remove or lessen valuable staff time spent on manual tasks, and help you serve patients better.
Sophrona can help you create workflow efficiencies.
Automation isn’t about replacing people. It’s about examining areas of your practice and finding opportunities for workflow efficiency. Uncovering tasks that don’t need to be done manually is a starting point. Once we’re able to identify processes that can be automated, it is easier to discover how your practice will benefit once you do.
Certain automations are more obvious than others, like online scheduling and managing patient referrals.
Take Mann Eye Institute, for example. Mann Eye is a leading eye care practice with multiple locations in Texas. Last year, leadership made the decision to change EMR partners, but to maintain other important 3rd party solutions, such as the Referral Portal.
According to COO Guido Piquet, the Referral Portal helps the practice increase referrals and improve communication with referring doctors. Building a successful co-management network is a key initiative for Mann Eye and the Referral Portal makes it easier for the practice to provide transparent communication with partnering ODs.
“Having a platform to be able to aggregate surgery patients, keep track of them, and take the appropriate action is a huge win for our team.
For the optometrist, it’s also a huge win. Prior to this, they would send their patient via fax or hand them a card with no way of knowing what happened to the patient.”
Do more with less staff through automation.
These days, we’re all looking for operational efficiencies and how to do more with less. Here are some of the ways that Sophrona can help your practice automate where it makes sense in order to increase productivity:
- The Referral Portal makes it easier for referring doctors to schedule patients while they are still in their office. No more lost referrals or valuable staff time spent tracking down referred patients by phone or email.
- Scheduling Widget allows patients to self-schedule on your website without speaking to someone or being placed on hold. Reduce phone calls while filling your schedules and make it more convenient for patients to book an appointment.
- Automated Reputation Management helps your practice grow online reviews, monitor your reputation and respond to feedback in one place.
- Did you know you can change your EMR but keep your Patient Portal or Referral Portal like Mann Eye? Sophrona can help.
Automation is about more than simply implementing new technology.
Success with automation requires rethinking processes. Automation can be used as a strategy, centered around what is best for your patients, referring doctors, and team members. Contact our team to learn more about how Sophrona can help your practice address staffing shortages through automation.