Once your new medical practice is up and running and showing signs of growth, you might want to consider growing your personnel as well. The owner/practitioner of a successful medical practice knows that it’s important to include different roles and responsibilities into the practice’s operations to ensure all duties are taken care of. 

In this blog, we will quickly discuss the different roles and their responsibilities that can be found in a successful medical practice. An important note to keep in mind is that the responsibility lies within the practice owner/practitioner’s hands to appoint competent personnel that will assist them in running the practice effectively and accurately. 

Click on a role below to navigate to and read more about it: 

1. Practitioner
2. Practice Manager
3. Receptionist
4. Billing Expert
5. Cashier
6. Credit Controller
7. Stock Controller
8. Bookkeeper/Accountant

Roles and Responsibilities

Before we start, know that you need to apply clear role division. This will make sure that all employees know what their roles and responsibilities are in the practice. Role division gives the practice the ability to:

• Divide work optimally between personnel,
• Implement separation of duties,
• Implement access control, and 
• Avoid labour disputes due to personnel not knowing what their responsibilities are. 

When recruiting your personnel, you can use these role descriptions to make sure that the person has all the necessary skills to make your practice a success and that all personnel know what their responsibilities are. 

Please note that you do not need to recruit each of these roles that we will be mentioning, However, know that one person can cover more than one of these roles, depending on the size of your practice. 

Practitioner

Of course, the first role that we will be focusing on is the Practitioner. Depending on the size of the practice, it is necessary to appoint more practitioners in the practice. The basic functions that a practitioner must be able to perform, are the following:

• Patient consultations,
• Physical examinations,
• Diagnosis and treatment of illnesses/ailments,
• Minor surgery,
• Health education,
• Practice management and administration, and
• Liaising with other healthcare professionals and/or hospitals, etc. 

Practice Manager

The second role can be seen as the mediator between the practitioner, personnel, and patients. The Practice Manager’s basic functions are as follows:

• Plan, coordinate, direct, and supervise various elements of a medical facility,
• Oversee billing and collections, design patient services and implement work policies for employees,
• Daily interactions with employees and patients,
• Handle scheduling, technical issues, and daily patient flow,
• Analyse and interpret reports and provide feedback to the practice owner(s),
• Implement strategies to make sure the practice’s finances are healthy and the practice is profitable.

Receptionist

The receptionist will normally give out the first impression of the practice to the patients. The Receptionist’s basic functions are as follows:

• Welcoming patients and visitors, 
• Answering or referring inquiries,
• Scheduling appointments in person or by telephone,
• Managing arrivals and waiting room, 
• Comfort patients by anticipating patients’ anxieties and answering questions, 
• Maintaining the reception area,
• Filing and retrieving patient records,
• Maintain patient accounts,
• Maintain business office inventory and equipment,
• Help patients in distress by responding to emergencies,
• Protects patients’ rights by maintaining the confidentiality of personal and financial information,
• Maintain operations by following policies and procedures; reporting needed changes,
• Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Billing Expert

The billing expert’s main focus is the practice’s invoices. The Billing Expert’s basic functions are as follows:

• Create invoices based on a proper knowledge of medical coding for each consultation and procedure,
• Check the Claim History screen (GoodX Software) to make sure all rejections of claims are dealt with timely and effectively, 
• Process billing corrections,
• Submit invoices to medical aids/administrators by electronic data interchange (EDI),
• Submit private patient invoices and statements to clients,
• Follow up on claims submitted to the medical aids/administrators.

Cashier

The Cashier’s basic functions are as follows:

• Accurately operate cash registers,
• Ensure that there is sufficient cash in the cash drawer & enough paper for the card machine,
• Maintain correct cash balances at cash registers,
• Sort, count and wrap coins and currency,
• Process payments made with cash, checks, credit cards, and debit cards,
• Reconcile cash and card payments at day end,
• Provide outstanding balances on accounts,
• Document payment arrangements.

Credit Controller

Credit Controller’s basic functions are as follows:

• Maintain strong relationships with all clients to ensure invoices are clear for payment,
• Issue monthly statements to clients,
• Manage the timely and effective collection of all debts and payments,
• Negotiate repayment plans when necessary,
• Resolve all issues raised internally and externally around outstanding invoices,
• Post and allocate daily receipts to accounting systems,
• Post and allocate electronic remittance advices (ERAs) as received from the medical aids/administrators,
• Run reports for senior staff,
• Provide accounts information to internal departments.

Stock Controller

If your practice is using stock, such as medicines, materials, and supplies, then a stock controller would be essential. The Stock Controller’s basic functions are as follows:

• Forecast supply and demand to prevent overstocking and running out-of-stock,
• Enter purchase details (suppliers information, invoices and pricing) into GoodX Software, 
• Place orders to replenish stock as needed,
• Track shipments and address any delays,
• Oversee the storage of products, particularly of fragile items,
• Evaluate suppliers’ offers and negotiate profitable deals,
• Coordinate regular stock takes and audits,
• Liaise with warehouse staff and other internal teams to test products’ quality,
• Keep inventory records updated (including daily shipments),
• Ensure that purchases do not exceed the budget.

Bookkeeper/Accountant

Bookkeepers are highly essential, especially for practices that are financially serious and/or require financial help. The Bookkeeper’s basic functions are as follows:

• Purchase and monitor office supplies and equipment, 
• Tag and monitor fixed assets,
• Pay supplier invoices in a timely manner.
• Take all reasonable discounts on supplier invoices.
• Monitor debt levels, 
• Draw the VAT report bi-monthly and remit them to the government,
• Ensure that receivables are collected promptly,
• Record cash receipts and make bank deposits,
• Conduct a monthly reconciliation of every bank account,
• Conduct periodic reconciliations of all accounts to ensure their accuracy,
• Maintain the petty cash fund,
• Issue financial statements,
• Provide information to the external accountant who creates the company’s financial statements if GoodX’s accounting module is not utilised,
• Assemble information for external auditors for the annual audit,
• Calculate and issue financial analysis of the financial statements,
• Maintain an orderly accounting filing system,
• Maintain the chart of accounts,
• Maintain the annual budget,
• Calculate variances from the budget and report significant issues to management,
• Comply with government reporting requirements on SDL, UIF and PAYE,
• Process payroll in a timely manner,
• Provide clerical and administrative support to management as requested,
• Follow accounting policies and procedures.

Conclusion

Your personnel are an investment and can take a lot of pressure off you – giving you the opportunity to focus on what you love to do: TREATING YOUR PATIENTS! 

For our current clients, GoodX Software’s online Learning Centre has more detailed information on what happens in a practice and the applicable roles and responsibilities in the Best Practice Guidelines book. 

In the next blog, we will be focusing on smart software that will help you further in managing your medical practice.