Whitley Penn Talks: How Much Are Operational Inefficiencies Costing Your Healthcare Practice?
Whitley Penn Talks: How Much Are Operational Inefficiencies Costing Your Healthcare Practice?
11/5/2026
A busy healthcare practice isn’t necessarily an efficient one. Patient no-shows, unclear staff responsibilities, ineffective KPIs, revenue cycle issues, and everyday workarounds can create operational and financial challenges that are easy to overlook.
In this episode of Whitley Penn Talks, Kendall Neukomm sits down with Brittany Frantzen, Healthcare Advisory Director at Whitley Penn, to discuss how healthcare practices can use data and operational insights to uncover inefficiencies and make more informed decisions.
Drawing on her experience as a nurse and healthcare leader, Brittany explains how day-to-day processes can affect providers, support staff, patients, and organizations as a whole. She also shares how examining workflows and processes can help your practice identify opportunities for improvement.
For healthcare practice owners and leaders looking to improve their operational efficiency, profitability, and the patient experience, this episode offers a practical look at how seemingly small inefficiencies can add up to larger operational and financial challenges.
Listen to this episode on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Featuring:
11/5/2026
A busy healthcare practice isn’t necessarily an efficient one. Patient no-shows, unclear staff responsibilities, ineffective KPIs, revenue cycle issues, and everyday workarounds can create operational and financial challenges that are easy to overlook.
In this episode of Whitley Penn Talks, Kendall Neukomm sits down with Brittany Frantzen, Healthcare Advisory Director at Whitley Penn, to discuss how healthcare practices can use data and operational insights to uncover inefficiencies and make more informed decisions.
Drawing on her experience as a nurse and healthcare leader, Brittany explains how day-to-day processes can affect providers, support staff, patients, and organizations as a whole. She also shares how examining workflows and processes can help your practice identify opportunities for improvement.
For healthcare practice owners and leaders looking to improve their operational efficiency, profitability, and the patient experience, this episode offers a practical look at how seemingly small inefficiencies can add up to larger operational and financial challenges.
Listen to this episode on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Featuring:
Takes from the Talk
How does clinical experience shape healthcare practice optimization?
Clinical experience helps advisors understand how operational decisions affect patients, providers, and support staff. Evaluating both the overall practice and individual workflows can reveal unnecessary workarounds, disconnected teams, and process gaps that practice owners may not recognize.
Which performance metrics commonly surprise healthcare practice owners?
No-show rates, referral response times, employee turnover, and provider productivity frequently reveal unexpected operational challenges. These metrics can affect revenue, patient access, staffing costs, and the continuity of care, even when a practice appears busy.
How can patient no-shows affect a practice’s profitability?
Two daily no-shows at $80 per visit can cost one provider approximately $36,000 over 45 weeks. Across six providers, that could represent $216,000 in annual lost revenue, along with longer wait times and additional administrative work.
What should healthcare practices measure to improve performance?
Practices should establish SMART KPIs that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Meaningful measures may include provider visits, appointment utilization, no-show rates, referral turnaround times, employee turnover, and both full and partial claim denials.
How should healthcare practices approach AI implementation?
Practices should begin with a clearly defined problem rather than implementing AI simply because the technology is available. Successful adoption requires appropriate infrastructure, realistic workflows, clinical safeguards, staff preparation, and a thoughtful implementation plan tailored to the practice.
Why are clearly defined roles and processes important?
When responsibilities overlap, employees may follow different procedures or assume someone else will complete a task. Clearly assigned roles, realistic standard operating procedures, and fewer handoffs can reduce missed steps, improve accountability, and create a more consistent patient experience.