Vision, Mission, and Goals
The vision of the budget guides the clinic’s financial planning by promoting sound fiscal management, administration, and strategic allocation of clinic resources. The purpose of the budget is to leverage the clinic’s assets to develop strategic, operational, and financial plans that support its objectives. Additionally, it will help implement and manage the clinic’s efficiencies, support informed decision-making, and foster new initiatives. The goals are as important as the mission and vision.
The primary goal of the budget is to provide a structure and sense of direction for the clinic by ensuring that management constantly reviews and references it, thereby preventing the clinic from exceeding budgetary limits. The structure also enables management to evaluate employee performance based on fiscal expectations. The second goal is to predict cash flows, as the clinic has 150 patient visits daily. Predicting the cash flows is handy in planning wages for all part-time and full-time personnel. Finally, the budget will enable leaders to allocate resources adequately, including fixed expenses such as medical supplies and office equipment.
In essence, management can use the budget to determine where resources are needed most. The fourth goal is measuring the clinic’s performance. The financial plan can help determine employee performance. Suppose the clinic’s returns and profitability are above average. In that case, it implies that the performance of the nursing practitioner, the clinical medical practitioner, and the office secretaries is also good and above average.
Personnel Budget
The personnel budget is essential for any organization since it outlines employee compensation procedures. Further, it is a crucial means of motivating employees. One way to encourage the employees is to ensure they are well remunerated (Riyanto, Endri, & Herlisha, 2021).
Medical practitioners are more satisfied and perform optimally when they are well compensated. High job satisfaction is related to high career performance (Riyanto et al., 2021). The staff is needed on a 24/7 basis throughout the year to handle emergencies at any time. There are two categories of staff, full-time and part-time, that enhance service efficiency at the clinic.
All full-time personnel will work eight hours daily, translating to 40 hours per week. The temporary personnel must work eight hours daily for two days, Saturday and Sunday. This structure supports the personnel demands of the clinic, as it will serve at least 150 patient visits daily. One nursing practitioner will see about four or five patients per hour, while one CMA will handle the same number of patients. In addition, the budget implies that at any specific time, there will be one physician, NP, CMA, office manager, and a secretary at the clinic.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2020a), the 2020 median physician pay is $208,000 or $100 per hour. The BLS (2020b) also reports that the median salary for NP is $117,670, and the average hourly pay is $56.57. The BLS (2020c) also reports that the 2020 median annual pay for medical assistants is $35,850, or $17.23 per hour. The BLS (2020d) also reports that the annual salary for a medical and health services manager is $104,280 per year, or $50.13 per hour. Lastly, the BLS (2020e) highlights that the 2020 annual salary for secretaries and administrative assistants is $40,990, or approximately $19.71 per hour. The salary calculations are as shown below.
Table 1 – Salary Calculations
Office Equipment and Supply Budget
It is a breakdown of costs that primarily shows the clinic’s spending plan. According to Luther (2020), most small businesses cap the starting capital at a ceiling of $50,000. The office supplies can range from $77 to $92 monthly per employee (Bean-Mellinger, 2019). Therefore, the upper limit of $92 per employee is viable. Based on Abdulsalam and Schneller’s (2019) report, supply expenses comprise approximately 15% of total hospital expenses; however, this value can increase to 30-40%.
Table 2 – Expenditure and Supply Costs
Medical Practice Supply Budget
The medical practice supply budget falls within the operating expenses. The clinic will need food for the staff, miscellaneous medical supplies, printing, and postage. Abdulsalam and Schneller (2019) note that approximately 15% of the total costs are allocated to resources. Furthermore, according to Shepherd (2021), supply costs are a significant expense that healthcare facilities incur. External factors, including physician preference items and external factors such as pandemics and pharmaceutical pricing influence the budget.
Table 3 – Operating Costs
The budget helps control the clinic’s activities, monitor performance, and track whether the goals are actualized. Additionally, the clinic must devise a concise plan for employing competent staff. The compensation suggested by the BLS is crucial to ensure that employees are well compensated, thereby guaranteeing high motivation and job satisfaction. Finally, office and medical supplies must be incorporated to ensure the clinic runs smoothly.
References
Abdulsalam, Y., & Schneller, E. (2019). Hospital supply expenses: An important ingredient in health services research. Medical Care Research and Review, 76(2), 240-252. Web.
Bean-Mellinger, B. (2019). The average cost per month for office supplies. Web.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2020a). Physicians and surgeons. Web.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2020b). Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners. Web.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2020c). Medical assistants. Web.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2020d). Medical and health services managers. Web.
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2020e). Secretaries and administrative assistants. Web.
Luther, D. (2020). 10 small business start-up costs. Web.
Riyanto, S., Endri, E., & Herlisha, N. (2021). Effect of work motivation and job satisfaction on employee performance: Mediating role of employee engagement. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(3), 162-174. Web.
Shepherd, M. (2021). A look at the actual device costs for hospitals. Web.