2. Show staff how to optimize patient collection. According to revenue figures from a recent Medical Group Management Association survey, 20 percent of office revenues come from patient co-pays — yet most practices only collect 60 percent of those fees. That means the average practice is leaving 8 percent of its total annual revenue on the table.
To ensure co-payments at the time of service, ask for payment as the patient arrives — not after service, says Mr. Weinstein. Also, estimate the patient’s responsibility beforehand, and get up-front authorization to charge his or her credit card within a range of that estimate. Other steps you can take include sending out statements more frequently than once per month, offering online payment, and making multiple payment options the norm.
Many practices write off outstanding patient balances of $25 or less. All this does is encourage non-payment, especially among patients who have $10 co-pays. Thanks to automated collection software, the cost of pursuing past-due collections has dropped to under $5, making it possible to clear up these low balances and increase your monthly income.
For patients who are temporarily uninsured, underinsured or have high deductibles, instruct your staff to work out a suitable payment plan. Make sure they are discreet; your patients will appreciate your sensitivity.
3. Cross-train front desk staff to help out during busy times. Although overtime is sometimes needed, it can also be a major driver in staffing and labor costs for practices. If practices are experiencing routine spikes in the number of overtime hours, they may need to try a few approaches to reduce this expense. Scheduling issues often are drivers of overtime costs, especially if a practice or a physician is not prepared for a flux of patients. Using shared human resources employees, such as front desk staff, to relieve FTEs is one way your practice has offset some of their overtime costs and help support physicians in seeing their patients.
4. Focus on treating patients like VIPs while they wait. There are a few simple things the practice staff can do to improve the patient’s entire experience at the practice and make them feel like VIPs. Make sure the staff smiles at the patients when they arrive and throughout the visit. Ask the patients questions and make sure they have everything they need, and provide them with things they’ve forgotten. “Customer service is very important,” says Bal Raj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Orthopedic Institute. “If the patient needs to have their MRI but didn’t bring it, my clinical staff will get the MRI.”
This treatment should remain consistent throughout the patient’s experience and recovery. Dr. Raj‘s staff calls the patient within a week of treatment or surgery to make sure the patient’s imaging has been taken care of and they understand their physical therapy. The staff also asks if the patient is having any problems and, if they do, helps to solve them.
5. Have front office staff, not schedulers, enter in patient information. When the person who schedules the appointment enters patient information into the system, it is a recipe for multiple errors, says David Wold, CEO of Healthcare Information Services in Park Ridge, Ill. That’s because the appointment scheduler has other functions to deal with and may not have the time, focus and understanding to make sure each bit of data is correct. There are fewer errors when the patient is handed off to the business office, and the business office enters the information. If this is not possible, then the business office should at least double-check the information.
Related Articles for Orthopedic Practices:
7 Strategies to Optimize Patient Collections for Orthopedic Practices
4 Upgrades for Orthopedic Practice Waiting Rooms
Two Steps to Improve Front Office Collections
