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Graphs generally represent a much better approach.
Practitioners (or office staff members) who are
comfortable with spreadsheet applications, such as
Excel, can easily chart data using a computer. The
graphs then can easily be updated monthly. However,
even the practitioner who is still more comfortable
with pencil and paper can be effective in developing
the graphs. Graphs can portray information
effectively. Notice how the graph in Figure 2 more
clearly demonstrates the same information that was
listed in Figure 1.
In comparing the practice?s data from month-to-month,
the practitioner should note if data (1) is better or
worse than last month, (2) is better or worse than the
same month last year, and (3) indicates trends or
cycles. Simply contemplating the comparisons each
month will make the practitioner think about their
meanings. The numbers themselves are not the answers.
They are the questions.
For example, assume frame inventory is found to be
growing while the number of frames sold is remaining
steady. The data should force the practitioner to
investigate. The practitioner might choose to keep
inventory steady for a while - or even reduce it - and
see if that impacts frame sales. Is the inventory
outdated? Are newer styles needed to make the
inventory more sellable? If that is the case, how will
the practitioner shed the old frames?
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Better Comparisons
The process, as outlined so far, allows comparisons
only within a practice. Comparison with aggregate data
from outside the practice can provide a barometer of
performance. However, direct comparison with data
another practice can not only represent a potential
violation of antitrust law (see Box), it is not
necessarily a beneficial practice management
technique. There would be little value, for example,
in comparing the staff hours at one practice with
those of another practice, as every practice has its
own style and traits. Such direct data-point
comparisons are unrewarding.
Practitioners Must Guard Against Antitrust Violations
Data comparisons among health care practices present
the potential for violation of state and federal
antitrust laws, designed to ensure competition among
practices, warns Lance R. Plunkett, AOA counsel.
Practitioners seeking benchmarks against which to
measure the performance of their practices should
strictly adhere to federal guidelines designed to help
practitioners avoid risk of antitrust violation.
Specifically, practitioners should compare their
practice data only to:
- Aggregate data (data compiled from a number of
other
practices on a nation-wide or state-wide basis);
- Data that cannot be identified as coming from
a
specific practice; and
- Data that are more than three months old.
For additional information, see The Antitrust Laws and
Optometry Practice, in the February "Practice
Strategies."
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