client profile

Seven-provider surgical specialty practice

problems

The group had recently lost their practice manager, and staff appeared to be suffering from low morale. They had selected an RN with no management experience to manage the practice, and wanted to know if we could assess their situation and train her.

solutions

Observation of the office staff revealed that many business and front desk staff were in the wrong jobs for their skills and/or training. Patients waited for long periods of time in the reception area and were dissatisfied with their front desk experience. The patient schedules were out of control; some doctors were double and triple booked for visits requiring 30-45 minutes each. All appointments were manually located despite the availability of an automated appointment-scheduling program.

The follow-up of accounts receivables follow-up was limited to remittance advice lists and numerous claims in the system were niether resolved nor reviewed after the original claim went out.

All coding of services was performed by the billing staff, and the superbill and charts often failed to support the charge data sent to the carrier.

In short, most of the processes were out-of-date and required modification to meet current healthcare standards of practice.

results

Protocols were created for patient flow, scheduling, demographic entry, charge entry, payment entry, A/R management and report analysis. These protocols were implemented in phases with staff re-assignments and put fully in place over the course of six months.

Billing and revenue were improved, and job satisfaction was stabilized. Job descriptions and the employee handbook were updated, and annual 360 degree evaluations were implemented. A year-long practice management training program was designed and successfully completed by the RN.