Today’s world of healthcare is evolving at a rapid pace. Improvements in telemedicine have resulted in GPs being able to treat patients at a distance without needing to be in the same physical space. This has been vital in ensuring the continued delivery of high-quality healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic. Medical technology advances quickly and offers treatments that simply were not available only a few decades ago. There will always need to be a face-to-face component of care delivery between GP and patient, whether it be at the GP practice or via home visits. With the increasing demand for healthcare and an aging population, a GP needs to work more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Here are just some of the ways a GP practice can improve its efficiency and provide the optimum levels of care for its patients.
Ensure A High-quality Supply Chain
A key component of any efficient and well-run GP practice is having access to it is of paramount importance for any GP practice to have strong links with their major suppliers to ensure that vital products and equipment can be ordered and delivered in timely GP supplies such as single-use instruments, infection control products and medical devices. manner. A well-run practice will undertake regular stocktakes to enable them to replenish supplies at suitable times to minimize the risk of shortages.
Build An Effective Workforce
No GP practice can perform at its best without high-quality staff. Practice Nurses are vital for routine treatments, and reception staff ensures that patient flows are managed effectively. The appointment system allows the maximum number of patients to be seen whilst minimizing waiting times. Ongoing staff training and DBS security checks are integral to ensure that suitable staff are employed (especially when dealing with confidential patient information) and employees are aware of current policies and procedures.
Ask For Patient Feedback
A patient-centred and highly efficient GP practice will incorporate methods of service user feedback to gain an insight on the quality of care provided from the patients perspective. Questionnaires and comment cards are ideal ways to integrate this into your practice as the feedback gained from patients can actively drive service improvements and promote higher levels of efficiency. In addition to such feedback loops, there should be a robust complaints system in place for when patients feel that the quality of care received has fallen below what should be expected. An efficient GP practice will be able to demonstrate that it is listening to patient complaints and comments and putting in remedial measures to improve patient care and minimize repeat adverse incidents when things go wrong.
To Sum Up
Key components of an efficient and effective GP practice include a high quality and responsive supply chain, well trained and suitable staff who receive ongoing education to ensure that they perform in line with current expectations and working practices. As well as treating patients, listening to their comments and concerns is also a vital mechanism to ensure that service improvements can be made, and patients receive the optimum standards of care.
