Monthly Production

We've determined how important a well-crafted patient schedule is to your team's ability to manage the patients. But there is another overarching concept that you must understand– a well-constructed and managed patient schedule is what makes the business thrive and prosper! And if the business thrives and prospers, then you will benefit as a team member, as well. So, let’s get started by looking at the financial impact of your patient schedule and how small tweaks and changes can make all the difference between a thriving and a struggling business.

Your employer is responsible for making sure that the business is healthy and profitable financially. They are responsible for making sure that patients are cared for, that all the bills are paid, that you and the rest of the employees are paid, and that they can support themselves with the profits that are left at the end of each month. In optometry, the income each month comes from both professional services provided and materials that are sold. For most practices, you collect money from both the patients directly as well as from billing certain insurance companies. Every practice is a little different, but you have to see a certain number of patients on a regular basis and you have to be paid a certain amount for each patient seen in order to run the business profitably. What are those numbers? Take a look at this table. As you can see, it makes a big difference to the income if you see 10 exams a day versus 16 exams a day. It makes a big difference if you schedule 30 minute exams versus 20 minute exams. 

Now the exact number of exams that are held as well as the revenue per exam are often times determined by the owner and their desire. So, there's not right or wrong number here, but we need to understand what is that number that you need to hit, how many exams do you need to see in a day, and what is the receipt per patient that we need to see each day in order to ensure that the business is thriving.