What is the importance of collaboration in healthcare? When clinicians and investors work together, there is tremendous potential for advancing the field of mental health. Marrying clinical knowledge with business acumen can help both parties allocate resources in ways that improve patient outcomes and financial stability for the practice.
A key component in this process is the use of electronic health record (EHR) software that is specialized for behavioral healthcare. This software can pull out the clinical and financial insights needed for providers and investors to pursue treatments that work and address areas of needed improvement.
Understanding the Importance of Investor-Clinician Collaboration in Healthcare
Inter-professional collaboration happens when experts from different professions work together, combining their knowledge to help reach goals and solve problems. In healthcare, this often looks like a collaboration between clinicians, with their expertise in attaining good patient outcomes, and the investors who help financially support and grow their practice.
The importance is that this collaboration allows both parties to reach their healthcare goals. Investors who want to make a real difference in the mental health field can lean on the expertise of clinicians to put their money toward treatments and programs with good results. In turn, clinicians and practice managers gain access to the capital that they need to support and potentially expand their work.
Investors provide the financial resources, the business acumen, and the strategic guidance to facilitate practice growth. Clinicians contribute their clinical expertise, patient insight, and deep understanding of behavioral health practices.
For such a partnership to work, everyone involved must be clear on their shared goals and agree on how those goals will be measured. They must also prioritize strong communication between all parties.
Business Integration for Clinicians
Clinicians, who likely haven’t attended business school, may face challenges when it comes to managing the business aspect of their practice. Focusing on clinical care alone may not be enough to ensure that the practice is sustainable and capable of growth. This can limit a provider’s ability to have the maximum impact with their services.
Partnering with investment experts who know how to grow a business can improve decisions related to practice management, help allocate resources more efficiently, and help the practice adapt to changes in the market.
In addition to investor partnerships, here are a few practical strategies clinicians can use to develop their business skills:
- Seek mentorship, both from clinicians who have run successful practices, and also from business professionals
- Attend workshops on practice management
- Learn how to use the features of your EHR that support business management, such as reporting features
Behavioral Health Software for Investors
Specialized behavioral health EHR software can play a pivotal role in enabling effective collaboration between investors and clinicians. EHRs, when designed specifically for behavioral health, can provide investors with comprehensive insights into the operations and performance of the practice.
A few of the EHR features that investors may use to gain these insights include:
- Financial management tools. Features that closely track billing, revenue, and provider productivity enable investors to analyze the practice’s financial trends and better manage resources.
- Performance analytics. These provide a holistic view of the practice’s performance, making data-driven decisions easier. This data can reveal areas of needed improvement within the practice. It can also reveal what your practice is doing well, allowing you to refine your marketing strategy.
- Customizable reporting features. Investors can request reports that are tailored to the specific needs of a practice. This helps facilitate clear and transparent communication with clinicians, staff, and other stakeholders.
With tools like these, investors can help practices optimize their effectiveness and revenue.
Closing the Gap – The Importance of Collaboration in Healthcare Between Investors and Clinicians
Strong inter-professional partnerships require a good framework for communication. It’s also important to consider barriers that could undermine communication and harm the working relationship.
If you’re considering how to bridge the gap between behavioral health clinicians and investors, here are some common barriers to watch out for:
- Lack of alignment on goals and visions
- Poor communication
- Unequal decision-making
- Lack of data to drive decisions
- Lack of trust
Get ahead of these potential problems with clear communication and supportive technology tools. Here are three ways to strengthen the working relationship between providers and investors.
1. Begin with Clear Goals in Mind
Make sure that everyone involved is crystal clear on the goals you are working toward for the practice. Are you seeking a higher patient load? More timely turnaround for billing? Increased revenue? Better patient outcomes? Expanded treatment offerings? Scaling to more locations?
Second, set expectations for how those goals will be measured. The right EHR software can measure many important practice KPIs, from financials to patient outcomes to provider productivity, and much more. Make sure everyone agrees on how the goals will be tracked and what constitutes “hitting the goal.”
2. Facilitate Regular Communication
Schedule times when all stakeholders can sit down together, in person or online, to discuss progress and make decisions. Ensure that all voices are heard in these meetings. Prioritize joint decision-making whenever possible.
3. Leverage Technology
Leverage technology such as EHR software to facilitate communication and data sharing. If your EHR has reporting features that are helping to measure goals, your investors may want access to those reports. Customize these reports based on exactly what your investors need to see. You might even decide to grant them limited access to certain features within the EHR itself. Using a robust all-in-one EHR solution, makes this process much easier.
Strong Partnerships for a Better Future
Investor-clinician collaboration is pivotal in driving growth and improving patient outcomes. Combining business and clinical expertise unlocks the door to innovative solutions that will help the behavioral health field continue to evolve and improve. It also enables sustainable growth for practices.
Behavioral health EHR solutions such as Valant serve as an important catalyst in this type of collaboration by providing the insights and data that both parties need to make decisions.
By utilizing technological tools and embracing inter-professional collaboration, behavioral health practices can thrive in an increasingly demanding healthcare landscape.
To learn more about how Valant’s EHR could help facilitate your business/clinician collaboration, schedule a demo today.
