Slashing operating costs in your practice: 4 takeaways

Emergency physician Jonathan Burroughs, MD, shares his thoughts on operating costs in U.S. healthcare organizations and gives key ways to slash these costs in an interview with Physicians Practice.

1. Practices should work with physicians on reducing operating costs. Dr. Burroughs says physicians control 80 percent-plus of operating costs so aligning with them is crucial to lower this figure.

2. Those looking to lower operating costs should align cost reduction strategies with customer service. A poor customer experience can likely result in high legal costs, so improving this experience aligns with a practice's overall aim of reducing operating costs.

3. Overall, Dr. Burroughs feels healthcare organizations should reduce their costs by 50 percent or more. With Americans spending much more per capita on healthcares costs than other industrialized countries, he said we don't get the quality "to justify the cost."

4. Dr. Burroughs told Physicians Practice cutting operating costs by 5 percent or 10 percent is not sufficient enough in the U.S. healthcare system, referring back to that 50 percent figure. To yield great cost reductions, Dr. Burroughs said the U.S. healthcare industry should rethink how it incentivizes healthcare providers and executives.

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