Do you have the right LNC business processes in place?
In a Legal Nurse Podcast, Regina Clarke shared her thoughts about the right business processes that healthcare organizations need to have in place.
She said, “These four fundamentals hold true for every organization that wants to improve the experience for the customer. In health care clearly the customer is the patient.” She got me thinking about how this applies to a legal nurse consulting business.
The right people
What does the ‘right people’ mean? In an LNC business, the right people may be family members who are helping you, employees or subcontractors.
Let’s look at this. Your spouse may be handling your invoicing because he or she is familiar with QuickBooks. This could be the right choice if your spouse is mathematically and detail oriented. Mine was when he handled the financial aspects of my LNC business. But suppose your spouse lacks these qualities but still thinks he should be helping you? What could that cost your business?
Are the employees you have the right ones? I had great employees – if you did not count the people I had to fire, usually within 3 months of being hired. The wrong people will hurt your business, with loss of revenue and customers. You need professional, clear communicators talking to attorneys.
Likewise, your subcontractors will influence the willingness of attorneys to give you work. They represent your business. When they slip up, everyone else is affected. This may be a challenge if you build up a large business, as I did, with multiple expert witnesses. They needed training, support and feedback to improve.
Look for people willing to learn, who are competent and have a great attitude. That’s the first fundamental.
The right processes or methods
You have to have business processes that make sense. Your business is a system. It needs a flow to handle a case from the inquiry to disposition stage.
Your training as a nurse makes you ideally suited to being able to map out steps. How many procedures have you written? How many procedures have you followed?
Every organization has a flow. Your business processes should make sense, not create double work and be clear to the people around you (employees, family, subcontractors). Processes can break or lose their meaning. I find it valuable to review my processes periodically and to document them as standard operating procedures.
The right work environment
People who work with you will make mistakes. You will make mistakes. LNCs who work in the medical malpractice part of law are trained to be judgmental. It is part of what we do.
Being critical and judgmental with employees does not create a relaxed work environment. Employee satisfaction and morale are affected by the boss’s mood and mannerisms. The employees and subcontractors we work with should feel taken care of and safe. They should believe their opinions count and they have a stake in the success of the company.
The right services
Attorneys vary in their needs. This requires you to be flexible. Listen to what they ask you about. Are you hearing a common theme in terms of what they need? Are they asking you to retrieve medical records? Do they want cost projections? Are they in need of an LNC to attend an insurance medical examination? What do they want? What should you add to your business processes and services?
Figure out a way to meet their needs.
The four things you need are
- the right people,
- the right processes,
- the right workplace and
- the right services.
Get more tips from Regina Clarke’s interview with me at this link.