Why Your Allied Health Practice Is Drowning in Admin - And What to Do About It

The hidden cost of doing it all yourself.

It’s 9PM on a Sunday night. You’ve had a nice weekend, but the looming weekly chore of invoicing your clients this week is upon you. While all your friends and family are soaking up the final precious moments of weekend bliss, you have to get this done to get paid this week.

Good-bye nice weekend vibes. Hello work mode.

THE HIDDEN HOURS PROBLEM

Let’s talk about this. The “hidden hours” problem. Research shows allied health practitioners spend 20-30% of their week on non-clinical tasks. These include;

• Appointment scheduling

• Medicare/NDIS paperwork

• Email management

• Billing & invoicing

• Referral follow-ups

  
  

And this doesn’t even include social media management, because you’re also expected to be a “content creator” now to drive new clients to your business.

Let’s break this down. The “real cost” of working these hidden hours.

If you are spending 10 hours per week on your admin tasks (including social media) and your hourly clinical rate is $120/hour…

10 x $120 = $1200

That’s roughly $1200 you could be earning if you weren’t stuck working in the hidden hours. Not to mention, the hidden cost of spending your “free time” working.

THE SOLUTION

How can you get your Sunday evenings back and step away from your Allied Health Admin?

Enter your Virtual Assistant (VA).

A VA from a reputable business is a highly skilled and fully trained individual. They are masters of adaptability and quickly learn new systems to better serve clients like you. An Allied Health VA should already be very comfortable with CRM software platforms such as Splose & Acuity. Hiring a Va allows you to delegate hidden hours tasks, giving you freedom to either...

a) Enjoy some free time/rest

or

b) Help more clients

TASKS YOU CAN DELEGATE IMMEDIATELY

Just to name a few...

• Inbox management (let your VA respond to client inquiries, appointment reschedules etc.)

• Invoicing & reconciling

• Chasing up outstanding client debts

• Referral follow ups

• Calendar management

• Client onboarding

WHAT DOES THE ONBOARDING PROCESS LOOK LIKE

Make sure you have a few “discovery chats” with VAs to feel out which would work well with you. You’re VA will essentially be a right hand in your business, so it is super important that you both feel comfortable together. Most VA’s should offer a free chat. Take advantage of this.

Once you have chosen a VA, the steps are pretty straight forward.

Step 1. Discovery chat - tick!

Step 2. Sign agreements - professional VA will have one for you to sign as well

Step 3. Pay any invoices - most VA’s charge upfront for their services

Step 4. Have a directions meeting – this is where critical information will be passed along such as logins, communication methods, shared resources etc. It is also a good idea to have an idea on what your priorities are. Do you want your VA to fix something within your systems? Do your intake forms need updating? Is your inbox a total mess? What will help you most right from the start?

Step 5. Get to work as normal (minus the tasks you've assigned to your VA!)– your VA will start working. Yay! You finally have some support in your business. As you continue working together, the scope of work will naturally shift with your business needs. Don’t be afraid to ask your VA for what you need, that’s their purpose.

WHY CEDAR & GUM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

I have been working alongside Allied Health professionals (and counsellors) for the past 6 years. I become a strategic partner in business for my clients and am available through ongoing email support throughout the week. If something is urgent, my clients can always reach me via SMS.

My business services come fully insured with Cyber and PI coverage. I also understand the importance of confidentiality within the health space and how relevant Australian laws and guidelines affect the industry.

Prior to the discovery chat, I thoroughly examine your booking process and online presence, s

eeking valuable insights that could be hindering your client experience.

Book a free admin audit - find out exactly how many hours you could get back.

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