AI Manifestations

ϕ Prescient (2014) The Critical Driver of Success: Physician Time

The Critical Driver of Success - Physician Time Review of Ophthalmology

ϕ Reality (2024) The Critical Driver of Success: Physician Time in an AI-Powered World as updated by Open AI

Balance sheets and income statements are yesterday’s tools, says this ophthalmic practice veteran. Now, AI-powered analytics and real-time reporting are transforming the landscape.

Pop Quiz: What were you doing during the financial presentation at your last board meeting?

A. Texting your spouse

B. Checking e-mail

C. Stepping out to make a call

D. All of the above

Traditional financial reports like balance sheets and income statements were conceived 160 years ago during the Industrial Revolution to facilitate railroad financing.

Although their intent is to communicate the financial health of a business, the reports are spoken in the language of accounting, a language foreign to many physicians. Historical by definition, the statements are often presented weeks, if not months, after the fact.

Much like driving while looking in the rearview mirror, it’s no wonder no one is paying attention.

To address this comprehension void and time lag, many medical practices are now leveraging AI-powered financial reports and predictive analytics.

These tools provide real-time insights that align with key performance indicators (KPIs) and enhance the understanding of a practice’s financial success and most important asset: physician time.

In this article, I’ll lay out three steps that wed the concept of physician time with AI-powered financial management, promoting physician understanding and ownership of financial performance.

Step 1: Doctor Days with AI Insights

Build the foundation of your practice’s financial management, budgets, and projections on physician and optometrist time, or “doctor days,” enhanced with AI analytics.

AI tools can predict patient volumes, optimize scheduling, and provide real-time financial projections, closing the loop with accurate and predictive budgets in the aggregate and by individual physician and OD type of service and location.

Step 2: Real-Time AI Reports

While the argument has been made that profit margins on many surgical procedures render real-time financial reporting unnecessary for medical practices, common sense and the current healthcare reimbursement environment suggest otherwise.

AI-powered real-time reporting provides timely, actionable information that reveals issues like payer and contracting problems, clinic workflow inefficiencies, and unscheduled physician time off.

Focus on "Simple, Time and Visual" and follow their corresponding rules:

Simple: Keep reports simple and relevant with AI-generated insights: production, cash collections, and key patient-care metrics.

Time: Present data in terms of time, e.g., AI analytics can show cash collections lagging by hours or days behind month-to-date budget.

Visual: Present information visually with intuitive AI-generated charts, rather than raw numbers or text explanations.

Step 3: AI-Enhanced Online Access

Establish a secure one-page intranet for one-tap access to AI-powered real-time and historical financial reports from a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

AI can push notifications of time-sensitive updates via e-mail or private X (Twitter) feed, democratizing the financial reporting process and fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.

By integrating these simple steps with AI capabilities, traditional financial reports are not rendered obsolete but are significantly enhanced.

Taking mind-numbing numbers, meaningless minutiae, and disjointed data off the table removes psychological barriers to financial comprehension, encouraging healthy physician and management dialogue regarding both short-term clinic operation objectives and long-term strategic financial planning.

Stop driving by the rearview mirror using Industrial Age financial management and reporting tools, and embrace the Information Age with AI.

Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel, and . . .

Know where you're going > Anticipated future Doctor Days -- Physician Time -- with AI Insights (e.g. future MD schedules broken down by Clinic, ASC, Hospital)

Know where you are today > AI-powered real-time reports fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.

Focus on your most important asset—physician time—and strengthen and grow your practice’s financial health by responding to changing circumstances in the here and now, built on the foundation and communicated in the language of time, with AI support.

Interested? AI Manifestations