Practice Pearls

Key performance indicators (KPIs) create alignment and momentum when teams understand how these metrics connect to patient care and overall clinic success. KPIs also help clinics focus on what matters most, both daily and long term. In my practice, each team member has five quarterly KPIs, which we review as a staff every two weeks. Individual performance is tied to compensation, and the team earns a bonus when everyone meets their targets.

Choosing the right metrics is essential. I focus on measures that directly affect patient flow, clinic efficiency, patient experience, and revenue. For front-desk staff, metrics may include check-in times, no-show rates, and collection rates. For clinical staff, they may include rooming efficiency and documentation turnaround times. Every KPI should be within that person’s control and clearly defined so there is no confusion about success.

You don’t need a complicated system to manage this. Choose a few meaningful metrics per person for each quarter. Review them, address gaps consistently, and use data as a coaching tool. When someone is struggling, ask why and how the team can contribute to fix the system.

Mental health and the overall well-being of medical professionals have a direct impact on patient care and an organization’s ability to maintain an adequate workforce. In 2022, at least one quarter of surveyed health care workers reported anxiety, depression, and burnout symptoms.¹

Our family medicine residency office implemented a multipronged approach to foster clinician and staff well-being:

• We created the Family Medicine Center Cares Crew, an interdisciplinary team dedicated to planning and leading monthly activities and social gatherings inside and outside of work for the entire team, supported by voluntary contributions from the 15 faculty members.
• We altered our hiring process to find like-minded individuals dedicated to providing high-quality care and exceptional patient experience. Our interview panel now includes a representative physician, nurse, manager, and the medical director. We are transparent about our goals and expectations.
• We instituted procedures to enhance patient and team member experience and increase efficiency to ensure everyone completes their clinics on time.

As a team, we committed to caring for one another so that together we could care for our 10,000 patients. In turn, we increased team member and patient experience scores, improved quality metrics, increased staff recruitment and retention, and created a joyful place to work.