On-Site Consulting - Long-term Partnership Program
Below are the elements of the three-day consulting process and how implementation of these elements can improve your hospital’s efficiency, culture, level of client service and profitability. Every hospital is unique and therefore has its own culture and operating structure that will have to adapt and change in order to be successful. It is our mission to help you tailor our recommendations to your hospital’s operational structure. We recommend a five-step process.
 Step #1
Upon acceptance and agreement of our proposal, staff surveys would be sent to you for distribution to each staff member for completion and return to MRG in furnished pre-addressed, postage paid envelopes. The surveys will then be reviewed and compiled. At this time, MRG will perform a financial analysis of the practice that will include a review of your financial statements and key performance indicators.
Step #2
An on-site visit by Tracy Dowdy will then be scheduled at a mutually agreeable time. The first half of day one of the on-site visit would be spent observing the normal routines of the practice and becoming familiar with the systems and workflow of the hospital. Areas reviewed include health care team members’ roles and responsibilities, operating procedures in the front, middle and back of the hospital, fee schedule, medical records, etc. During the second half of this day, Tracy will meet individually with each staff member, including all doctors. At the end of the workday, Tracy would like to have dinner with the owners to discuss her observations and recommendations. At that time a plan can be developed to accomplish the changes desired.
Step #3
The second day will consist of four to six hour meeting with the entire healthcare team. The practice will need to be closed so everyone will be able to stay focused and see the importance of the meeting. Tracy will give a presentation on “Why Change Is Important to the Veterinary Practice of the New Millennium” in order to get the team motivated to see the need for change. Lastly, a vision planning session with the entire healthcare team will be facilitated to define or refine your practice’s vision and goals. All health care team members will be involved in the process of answering the following questions:
 What is our fundamental reason for being?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?
Where do we want to be in 2-3 years?
What is unique about our practice?
Tracy will help practice owners, associates and health care team members understand how this vision can be implemented via day to day activities and why this will benefit practice owners, employees, clients, and most importantly, pets.
Step #4
During the third day of the on-site visit, Tracy will facilitate a strategic planning session to develop an action plan based on your vision and an analysis of where the practice is now and what must change to meet your goals. All health care team members will be involved in the implementation planning process to help them understand how they can function as change leaders.
Areas to be addressed include:
Standards of care for wellness visits, hospitalization, anesthetic procedures, etc
Standards of appearance for the staff, facility and printed materials
Training programs—specific roles of staff members, orientation, cross training
Workflow restructure—step by step plans for client transactions, dealing with bottlenecks, estimates, etc
Communication tools—healthy pet forms, written diagnostic plans, written release instructions, etc.
Step #5
Establish schedule of weekly Client Service Meetings—the key element to establishing the culture and changing to meet your vision. Tracy Dowdy will help support the designated change leaders in your practice with weekly telephone support as well as periodic on-site visits.
A written report will be compiled by Tracy Dowdy within three weeks following the initial on-site visit that summarizes key agreements reached for change implementation. The report will include specific areas of responsibility for each staff member as determined. Additional materials helpful to your practice will also be included.
The continued training and development of staff requires firm anchoring into the culture in order to "stick". Tracy Dowdy facilitates this anchoring through weekly telephone consultation to facilitate discussions, answer questions, and provide direction, guidance and inspiration toward the goals and vision.
We also schedule quarterly on-site visits so we can continue to review; revise and update the action plan with the core leaders of the practice.
Contact MRG with questions and concerns regarding the future success of your practice.
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