It’s a new year, which means that practice owners—and your IDOC consultants, for that matter—are reflecting on last year’s achievements and setting revenue goals for 2022.
As you set your 2022 revenue goals, don’t forget to celebrate the wins from last year. Goals and business resolutions lead us all on a never-ending path to perfection; if we don’t look backwards, sometimes it just gets discouraging. So, remember to celebrate hitting your revenue targets or other business goals!
How to Set Revenue Goals for 2022
At IDOC, we’re setting SMART revenue goals for 2022: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Using the SMART framework is an effective way to properly set revenue goals for 2022.
In our experience, most practices will (and should!) have a goal tied to gross collected revenue. Alas, for some owners—and a lot of staff—having goals tied to money can feel a bit icky.
If that’s true of your practice, here’s my best piece of advice: before talking about money, take author Simon Sinek’s advice and “start with why.” Why does the practice get paid money? Why do you do what you do for your patients?
The phrase I use to explain why revenue is a good measurement of achievement is:
REVENUE is a number that measures how many PATIENTS a practice sees and how much CARE those patients consume from the practice.
Everyone in your practice has a day job of caring for your patients’ visual health. The outcome of caring is that your practice will be paid for the care you deliver. To be clear, care includes:
- Comprehensive exams
- Disease management and medical eye care
- Specialty services
- Eyeglasses that help patients look and see their best
- Contact lenses
(Yes, retail is a part of care!)
2022 Revenue Metrics to Measure
When doing your 2022 revenue goal planning, there are two parts to the above formula that deserve extra attention.
- Patients
Perhaps the most important measure is how many patients are being seen in your practice. A key metric to watch is your schedule fill rate (the number of patients actually seen versus the number of exam slots). Aim to keep the fill rate above 90-95 percent. - Revenue per exam
Another one of the best ways to set revenue goals that are effective is to pay particular attention to your revenue per exam. Revenue per exam is the output for the standard of care a practice provides. A great activity for your planning is to write out the standard of care for your practice: what is the level of care (screenings, pairs of prescription glasses, etc.) a patient should expect to receive in your practice? Can you raise your revenue per patient?
Take time in this new year to reflect and set measurable goals for financial performance and the patient care that undergird your practice’s revenue. Setting clear, measurable, concrete 2022 revenue goals built on your why is the best way to focus your staff’s attention on the activities that matter. It’s also the best way to focus your own attention and energy on defining, explaining, and then creating the practice of your dreams.
If you are still struggling to make sense of your finances or want some added guidance, let us help. At IDOC, we offer financial services for optometrists to help you run your business successfully.
After graduating, he spent a year working abroad. During that time, he worked for two firms in San Jose, Costa Rica. He interned with Grupo Juridico de San Jose, working in environmental policy to protect a threatened parcel of land, then he worked as a project manager for a US-owned precision machining shop. Nathan then spent 6 months working with street children and orphans in Mexico.
Before getting into the healthcare industry, he was an Assistant Store Manager and completed the Corporate Training Program with Haverty’s Furniture Company in Atlanta, GA. Nathan and his wife Heather have a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Hannah. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys reading and outdoors activities - especially cycling and hiking.
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