Does your practice need to hire more staff?

Hey there folks, my name is Keith Reynolds, I’m the editor of Physicians Practice and this is the P2 Management Minute. Unsure if it’s time to add staff? Check these three metrics.

1. Rising wait times

Longer lobby waits and clogged phone lines scream ‘over-capacity.’ Track median in-office wait and the third-next-available appointment every month. Two straight quarters of increases? Time to hire or redeploy a scheduler or Medical Assistant.

2. Chronic overtime

FLSA rules make overtime a hidden tax. Pull payroll every cycle. If overtime tops 10 percent of total hours for three pay periods in a row, run the math: a full-timer often costs less than time-and-a-half.

3. Labor cost per visit

Divide total comp by total visits each quarter. If the ratio climbs while volume’s flat, offload clerical tasks to support staff or software so clinicians can see more patients and restore margin.

Watch waits, overtime, and cost per visit, your trio of hiring signals. For more bite-size practice tips and tricks make sure you visit PhysiciansPractice.com.

Thanks for watching I’ll see you tomorrow on the P2 Management Minute!

About the P2 Management Minute

The P2 Management Minute is a fast-paced video micro-series from Physicians Practice that distills proven management strategies into bite-size, one-minute episodes for busy medical practice administrators and lead physicians. Each installment spotlights high-impact tactics—drawn from real-world best practices and expert insights—that administrators can apply the same day to boost efficiency, strengthen patient satisfaction, or elevate staff engagement. No theory, no fluff; just concise, actionable guidance that respects tight schedules and delivers measurable results between appointments.

Record your own!

Interested in stepping in front of the camera to share a quick tip of your own, or have a suggestion for a topic we should spotlight in an upcoming P² Management Minute? We’d love to hear from you. Whether it’s a proven strategy for streamlining workflows, a clever morale-booster, or a hard-won lesson on patient engagement, your insight could help peers across the country elevate their practices in just 60 seconds. Drop Keith a note at kreynolds@mjhlifesciences.com with your idea—or, better yet, a brief outline or smartphone video sample—and we’ll walk you through the simple submission process. Let’s collaborate to make every minute count for the medical community.

Keith A. Reynolds is the editor of Physicians Practice and wants to know what practice issues are keeping you up at night. You can let him know at kreynolds@mjhlifesciences.com.