A doctor’s office is a unique kind of business; Patients’ health comes first. Because of this special mission, oftentimes the typical time management tips found in business publications aren’t always applicable.

Here are 3 great productivity tips prescribed solely for the medical office manager.

1. Take an outsider’s look at your physical space. If your office is housed in an old or traditional building, the blueprint layout may not be the most efficient for the daily tasks of a modern medical office, e.g., computer monitors, patient check-ins, mail and email, or housing digital or paper patient files. Consider consulting an architect or professional organizer to conduct an efficiency study of the office space. For example, perhaps your staff must do billing and receive patients at the same time.

An architect can design a privacy counter that can be installed in front of the desks without taking up space from the existing waiting room. If a consultant isn’t budgeted, bring in a very organized friend or two and ask them for ideas.

2. Allot a dedicated space and concentrated time for processing incoming correspondence and supplies. Develop a standardized incoming mail procedure and ensure all staff are familiar with it, in case of absent employees (a common occurrence in medical offices).

a. Put mail and dry courier packages aside as they are delivered (process refrigerated or live cell samples immediately).

b. Allot time at the end of the day or the first thing the next morning to process each piece of mail. The point is quick categorization, not action on each item. Hold no piece of mail for more than 30 seconds. Sort paper mail into category bins: e.g., Billing, Patient Information, Legal. Make sure never to open mail within view of patients, as this may violate HIPAA regulations. If you have a small office space, consider staying a few minutes outside of patient hours to process mail.

c. Unpack and shelve supplies from packages only in the place where the supplies are to be stored. Go to the storage location and empty the box, then dispose of the box to the recycling area. Depending on the number of supplies, no package should take more than 3-5 minutes each.

3. Develop a reception/e-mail/phone rotation for office personnel. Medical office employees do not get long blocks of time to work on "projects." Constant phone and email interruptions along with patient and doctor demands disrupt a front office staff member’s ability to concentrate. Even the most efficient time management plan is crushed under a doctor’s office endless stream of disconnected tasks.

Construct a "main job" rotation. Assign primary, secondary and tertiary task coverage for each staff member. For example, for one day a staff member is assigned phone duties, then email duties, then billing. The co-worker would be assigned billing, then phone, then email. Rotate the schedule daily or as needed. The goal is to de-splinter staff’s attention. With a rotating primary duties schedule, your staff will be secure knowing that all of their duties will have dedicated time in the schedule.

A well-run medical practice delivers its "customers" the help they need quickly and thoroughly. Try these tips to maximize the efficiency of your office and staff.