RxWorks

RxWorks is used successfully by many clients who have multiple locations.  We have built functions that support their special needs.  Managing our own offices around the world has helped us understand the flexibility and controls required.

Considerations for Multi-location Practices

There are many business models that can be used.  The main decision that governs which is used is how much central control to have.  

Some choices are:

• Central server or servers at each location.
• Fees controlled centrally or by each clinic.
• Purchases done centrally or by each clinic.
• Centralized marketing campaigns for selected services and products.
• Client and Patient database shared by all locations, or not.
• Staff rotate through all locations or stay in one clinic.

Other decisions have to be made on the management information that is needed.  What will be used to measure the performance of each location?  Do you want to compare performances across the whole group or only within the clinic?

Fortunately, RxWorks provides the necessary functions regardless of the choices you make.

Central Server or Local Servers

The choice is made for you, if you do not have reliable internet connections available.  But, if there are good connections it is a matter of how independent you want each clinic to be.

One of the advantages of a group of practices is economy of scale.  This would suggest that the central server is a better alternative.

The central server can be setup to reduce the impact of any hardware failures.  Secondary servers can be set to step in and carry on processing data.  There would be a minimum disruption to the clinics.

Data is typically more secure.  You do not rely on each location backing up their computers and taking a copy off-site.  The central backup is normally more robust and you have more certainty that  a copy is off the premises.

It also makes it much easier to consolidate such tasks as managing fees and producing reports.  Sharing client and patient data with all locations is easy.

Adding more clinics to the group is less expensive.  New servers are not needed in each location.

Probably the greatest concern with a central server is having “all of your eggs in one basket”.  What happens if the whole server setup goes down?   Fortunately with the latest RxWorks Server Load, you can carry on processing through the Command Center .  It will be slower, but will still work.  And, being realistic, the chances of everything going down at the same time  are fairly small. (We hope Murphy is not reading this!)

Management of Fees

Who sets your fees?  And how do they calculate them?  

Most would agree that it is just good business to make sure that your fees cover your costs and make some profit.  But how many practices have the time or experience to go through  the collection of information that’s needed?  Not many individual practices  have those resources.   Groups with central management have a much better opportunity but still need the tools.  

RxWorks Performance Pack provides those tools.

You can still have different fees for each practice to allow for  local economics.   But a consistent pricing strategy can be followed which calculates fees for all clinics in the group.  With Performance Pack, you can have different profit margins for each revenue heading.  This allows you to be more competitive in shoppable services and products.  As well as having your fee structure support any marketing campaigns.

Global fee increases are common in practices.  They will likely continue unless tools in Performance Pack are used.  More and more clients are checking the internet for prices. Global increases make prices that are already uncompetitive even worse.   It also creates a poor impression of the practice’s pricing in the client’s mind.  Using the management resources that  a group brings to the table, different pricing strategies can be tried.  You can then implement the ones that improve profitability while keeping clients happy.

Even though branch clinics have a consistent list of fees, you can still manage inventory on-hand levels separately. Stock can also be transferred easily between branch locations. E-Commerce allows separate accounts to be maintained with wholesalers for each clinic. Orders and receipts are managed electronically.

Recommended Modules
Performance Pack, E-Commerce.

Use Marketing to Grow Your Business

Groups have a big advantage when it comes to marketing their services.  This is where economy of scale is very obvious.  

The larger the number of mail pieces, such as reminders, the lower the cost per piece.  This applies equally to brochures, leaflets, etc. when they are pre-printed.

Most marketing campaigns are made up of several parts.  One could include a leaflet, an email message, a posting on your website and maybe a text message to the client’s phone.  Individual practices do not normally have the resources or experience to build such a campaign.  But, a group which is creating a marketing program for several clinics can make the necessary investment.

A central client and patient database contains all the information needed to select the targets for the campaign.  Using the RxWorks Practice Information Management System (PIMS), you quickly build the process to get your message out.  Its functions help keep the manual effort down to a minimum.

The next step is to measure the results of the campaign.  This is done through the many flexible reports available in RxWorks.

Measuring Your Success

Groups need reports that are more comprehensive than those for individual practices.  Having to manage several  clinics is much more complicated.  This is made even more difficult when the clinics are not close to each other.

Managers need the “usual suspects” reports such as production by provider, by service, etc.  They also need information that tells them how clinics and providers compare to their peers.  

Trends in management are towards more meaningful measures of performance. They indicate that:  

• Using gross revenue as the sole measure of success is at best misleading.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI) give you a much better insight into what is going on.  For example; How many regular, new or returning clients did you see today, this week, this month, etc? And how does that compare to this time last year? This is a simple check on how successful you are in bonding with clients.
• Profitability reports provide a more accurate picture of the financial health of the practice.
• “Benchmarking” will show how your practices compare with others.

We are continually adding more of these features into our program. 

What Next?

To find out more on how RxWorks can benefit your Group Practices, please contact your local RxWorks’ Practice Advisor.

Contact RxWorks