Being a doctor often means doing more than just being a doctor. Between supervising staff, seeing patients, and managing logistics, it’s easy to feel stretched thin—or worse, lost in inefficiencies that chip away at your focus and your time. On average physicians spend almost spend more than half their time on human resources and desk work. And that doesn’t include all the after hours work it takes to run a business.

For Eric Mann, MD, an ophthalmologist and practice owner, running a high-volume clinic doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means building systems that work for his team and his patients—without sacrificing humanity.

Here are three efficiency moves Eric swears by.

1️⃣ Macromanage with Clarity

🧠 Time Saved: Hours of micromanagement

“My job is to make doctor decisions—not to do everyone else’s job for them. I give my team space to work how they work best.”

Instead of hovering or double-checking every detail, Eric optimizes by delegating with clarity. His staff knows exactly what’s expected because they’ve helped co-create the processes. He oversees quality, not every step.

✅ Pro Tips:

• Define roles clearly—and give team members ownership.
• Build simple handoff protocols so anyone can step in as needed.
• Supervise for quality, not control. Autonomy fuels efficiency.

2️⃣ Follow the Blinking Lights

🛠 Tool Highlight: Visual Workflow Systems

“My life has basically become a series of following blinking lights.”

Eric uses a light system to indicate when each exam room is ready, eliminating wasted motion and decision-making fatigue. Think of it as clinical traffic control. No guessing. No back-and-forth. Just flow.

✅ Pro Tips:

• Use visual cues (lights, whiteboards, dashboards) to streamline room transitions.
• Avoid multi-step communication chains for simple status updates.
• Adopt a “flow-first” mindset—how does the patient move through the experience?

3️⃣ Make Efficiency Feel Human

🧑‍⚕️ Patient Satisfaction Impact: High

“Efficiency at the cost of patient interaction is not always a great trade-off.”

Even completing 15 lasers in 15 minutes, Eric makes time for what matters: eye contact, a smile, a handshake. Patients don’t feel like they’re on a conveyor belt because they aren’t. They’re seen, heard, and cared for—even in a tightly-run machine.

✅ Pro Tips:

• Schedule micro-moments of connection: eye contact, names, brief check-ins.
• Don’t underestimate non-verbal care cues—touch, posture, presence.
• Efficiency is invisible when empathy is present.

Want to Swap Systems and Stories with Docs Like Eric?

Lucens is a peer-led community for physicians who believe there’s always a better way to work, lead, and live. If you’re building a practice—or rethinking how yours runs—you’ll find real-world strategies, honest conversation, and plenty of straight talk here.

👉 Apply to join Lucens today.

‍