With two months already gone in 2023 and work at full throttle, it’s understandable to feel that the new year already is getting ahead of us. If you are struggling to make progress on goals you’ve established for this year, consider a simple, tested process to help re-prioritize.

I am a big fan of Start, Stop and Continue and have used this three-part process in all my leadership roles. It requires a high level of honesty and transparency, with a willingness to challenge the status quo.

Here is how you can begin to use Start, Stop and Continue to help facilitate team-based improvement:

Start with meaningful outcomes

Identify new initiatives or actions that will deliver a meaningful outcome to the practice. These might be steps required to resolve current workflow or patient satisfaction challenges or equally things that would help to differentiate the practice from others. Ask yourself: If we were able to successfully implement this, what would be the impact on our patients, practice and how would that support the achievement of our short, medium or long-terms goals?

Stop what is not worthwhile

What are we currently spending resources on that we may not believe is worthwhile? Examples might include preparing reports that deliver questionable value. A healthy discussion with the appropriate people may help you to determine that these are not needed, that they could be significantly condensed in scope or maybe the frequency could be reduced. Any of these outcomes would help redirect valuable resources to other more important priorities.

Continue what is going well

While it might be tempting to discuss this first, I encourage you to leave it to last … if we simply choose to continue to do things as we currently do them, we will be challenged to find time for the new initiatives we have identified as critical. That said, this is the time to recognize the things that are really going well that we must sustain no matter what. Think, for example, about the 5-star patient feedback you are proud to receive and how this is associated with protocols that set you apart from your competitors.

If you decide to embark on your own Start, Stop and Continue, I hope you have some fun and discover new ideas and enhanced prioritization for the remainder of the year. Meantime, I invite you to indulge in the wonderful line-up of articles in this edition of OP. Enjoy the read. OP