Maximize Revenue and Trim Expenses by Streamlining Practice Operations

When it comes to operating a medical practice, it’s important to constantly review processes and improve operational efficiency on an ongoing basis.  Examining current procedures can help identify areas that may be draining revenue, increasing costs and lowering the bottom line. 

Review Your Coding for Accuracy
An inaccurate code can reduce reimbursements, and therefore cause delays or denied claims.  Often times mis-coding occurs when old data is present and inexperienced support staff are charged with making the coding decisions. 

To keep your codes accurate, ensure you are maintaining coding manuals and software.  Keep a code reference summary handy in exam rooms and offer easy access to online coding resources.  Remind staff members that making notes during each patient visit, allows for more accurate billing. 

Finally, take the time to periodically review your practice’s coding accuracy to uncover problem areas.  These assessments could include a review of your practice’s forms and a comparison of billing codes with the actual services that were provided.

Improve Employee Productivity

• Consider these ideas for improving productivity:
• Set productivity goals and offer incentives to your staff for reaching those goals.
• Delegate administrative functions:
• Ensure that physicians spend their time doing the tasks that can only be done by a physician.
• Maximize your physician and medical assistant’s time by reviewing your patient flow.

Exercise More Efficient Control over Staff Time
It is often possible to trim overtime expenses without reducing the quality of patient care.  You can start by reviewing those employees who worked overtime and what was happening when they worked the overtime.  If overtime was necessary because you were short-staffed, see if this was due to vacations or some other controllable situation. It may be time to revise your practice’s policy on vacation time if scheduled time off was the cause of the jump in overtime.

Update Fee Schedules
Although patients are price conscious in today’s market, it is important to review your fees to ensure you are maintaining an appropriate fee structure.  If your practice hasn’t raised fees regularly, you may want to consider appropriate increases. In addition, you should periodically examine the reimbursement rates of all the plans you participate with and re-evaluate whether it makes economic sense to continue accepting patients from some of the ones that reimburse poorly.

Improve Your Purchasing Practices
Medical and office supplies can be a significant part of a practice’s expenses. Busy practices often continue to order these items from the vendors that have always supplied them which can be a costly mistake. Choose several of your practice’s “high-volume” items and find out how much other vendors are charging. Use that information to negotiate lower prices with your current suppliers, consolidate orders with fewer vendors, or switch to new suppliers to save money.

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John Warren, Tax Partner   |   jwarren@berganpaulsen.com

As an experienced tax partner, John connects with both individual and business clients on complex tax issues.  John focuses his practice on the health care and real estate industries.  With compassion toward the industry, John builds long-term relationships with clients through active listening and creating multifaceted solutions.  Read more about John.