What the role actually covers
"Practice management" sounds like one job. In a surgical practice it's really several, running at once:
- • Reception, scheduling and referral intake
- • Theatre lists and hospital coordination
- • Medicare, DVA and health-fund billing, and chasing what's unpaid
- • Patient communication from first enquiry to follow-up
- • AHPRA-compliant marketing and referrer relationships
In a small practice, one person usually carries most of it — which is the hidden fragility of the model.
The cost that doesn't show up on an invoice
When the back office isn't properly resourced, the work doesn't disappear — it lands on the surgeon. Evenings spent reconciling claims, referrals sitting unactioned, rejected claims quietly written off, and no cover when the one person who knows the system takes leave. None of that appears as a line item, but it costs real money and real hours — usually the hours you'd rather spend operating.
In-house vs outsourced, honestly
An in-house hire
A familiar face who's yours full-time — but a fixed salary plus on-costs, leave and training, whether the workload fills the week or not, with no cover when they're away and the whole practice depending on one person's knowledge.
An outsourced team
A predictable service that scales with your list and doesn't stop for holidays or resignations — one accountable partner across billing, coordination and admin, without the overhead of recruiting, managing and covering staff yourself.
There's no universal right answer — it turns on your volume and how much you want to manage people. What you shouldn't do is leave it to chance, or assume the cheapest headline rate is the lowest real cost. SSPM bundles the whole back office into one service, so you get the coverage of a team without building one.
Common questions
What does a medical practice manager actually do?
For a surgical practice, the role spans reception and scheduling, referral intake, theatre and hospital coordination, Medicare and health-fund billing, accounts receivable, patient communication, and compliant marketing. In a small practice one person often does all of it — which is why it's so hard to cover when they're away or the workload spikes.
Is it cheaper to hire in-house or outsource?
It depends less on a headline rate than on what you're really buying. An in-house hire is a fixed salary plus on-costs, leave, cover and training, whether or not the workload fills their week. An outsourced team converts that into a predictable service that scales with your list and doesn't stop when someone's on holiday. The right answer depends on your volume and how much you want to manage staff — which is exactly what a discovery call is for.
Can I outsource just billing and keep reception in-house?
Yes. It's modular. Some surgeons hand over the whole back office; others start with billing — usually the highest-risk, most specialised part — and keep a familiar face on the front desk. You can move the line later as your practice grows.