Clinic KPIs: 12 numbers worth watching every week
Revenue is the number everyone looks at, and it is the last number to move. Weeks earlier, smaller numbers move: an empty slot, a stalled package, a rejected claim. Here are 12 of them, and what to do when one moves.
Why weekly, not monthly
The monthly report tells you what you lost. The weekly one tells you what can still be saved. A package that stalled 10 days ago still has a patient who answers the phone; two months later it does not.
The condition is that the numbers come from the system, not from a spreadsheet assembled by hand. A number that takes two hours to assemble will not be assembled every week.
Appointments: 4 numbers
Occupancy. Booked slots divided by available slots, per doctor and per room. A room at 40% and a doctor with a two-week waiting list in the same clinic is a scheduling problem, not a demand problem.
No-show rate. Patients who did not turn up divided by patients booked. Track it per doctor and per booking channel; no-shows from an Instagram booking behave differently from a returning patient's.
Waiting time. From the patient's arrival to entering the room. The number that explains bad reviews before they are written.
Next appointment booked. The share of patients who left with a future appointment. In a package clinic it should be close to 100%.
Packages: 3 numbers
Stalled packages. A package with sessions remaining and no future appointment booked. This is the most important number in dermatology, physiotherapy and nutrition clinics, and the least watched.
Package completion rate. Patients who finished divided by patients who started, per package type and per doctor. A package people always abandon at session 4 has a design or pricing problem.
Deferred revenue. What was paid up front and not yet delivered. That is money you still owe work for, not profit.
Money: 3 numbers
Patient receivables. Uncollected balances, sorted by age. A balance past 60 days rarely comes back without follow-up.
Rejected claims. Count and value of what insurance companies rejected this week, grouped by reason. The recurring reason is usually one documentation error that can be fixed.
Same-day collection. What was collected at the visit divided by what was invoiced. Everything not collected today becomes a follow-up tomorrow.
Team: 2 numbers
Revenue per doctor hour. What the doctor's work invoiced divided by scheduled hours, not hours present. A doctor with high revenue and low occupancy deserves more slots.
Doctor shares against revenue. What is owed to doctors as a share of revenue, per doctor. When this rises without revenue rising, discounts are being given at the clinic's expense, not the doctor's.
How to read the dashboard in 15 minutes
Start with what can be saved this week: stalled packages, receivables past 30 days, rejected claims. These are three lists of names that go to reception and the accountant on Sunday morning.
Then what needs a decision: occupancy per room and doctor, no-shows per channel. These change next week's schedule.
Finally the trend: revenue per hour and completion rate over 8 weeks. These are not read week by week, but as a line.
What is not measured does not improve, and what is measured badly gets worse
A no-show rate counted from the reception book will be counted according to the mood of the day. A completion rate that needs someone to remember these visits were a package will never be counted.
So the first question about any KPI is: where does the number come from? If it needs extra data entry from staff, it will be neglected. If it comes from work that is already recorded, the booking, the session, the invoice, it stays true.
Questions
How many KPIs should I really follow?
3 save your week, 4 change your schedule, the rest is trend. 12 numbers on one dashboard read in a quarter of an hour. More than that does not get read.
What is the single most important KPI for a package clinic?
Stalled packages. Every stalled package is deferred revenue that will not turn into work, and a patient who will start again somewhere else.
Do I need an analyst?
No. You need the numbers to come out of the system ready, and a fixed 15-minute weekly meeting to read them.
What about comparing branches?
The same KPIs for each branch side by side. A difference in no-shows or occupancy between two branches reveals a difference in practice, not in the market.
Should I share the numbers with doctors?
Yes, their own. A doctor's statement with occupancy, no-shows, revenue per hour and share changes behaviour more than any meeting.
Is revenue a bad KPI?
It is a lagging one. It tells you the result of decisions made two months ago. The 12 numbers above are what moves revenue before it moves.
See it on your own clinic
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