Who is Running Your Practice?

Just because your name is on the door – and on the checks and on the bills – doesn’t always mean that you are driving the daily decisions that will make or break your practice.

The Truth Is… You may be a victim of unconscious embezzlement if your staff doesn’t fully understand the revenue impact of their actions. You will lose money.

There are 4 key areas in which your staff may be operating completely independently of your own goals and direction.

1 – Training.

Your industry is literally changing every day. Is your staff up-to-date with certifications and skills? Are you taking advantage of the latest state guidelines for auxiliaries? Are they knowledgeable about the most current treatments and procedures? Are they savvy to technologies that keep you competitive, current, and efficient?

If the answer is no to any one of these, you very likely have a profit drain that takes a toll on your revenue every single day.

2 – Case Acceptance.

Are patients leaving the office without setting up the next appointment? Does the clinical staff support your diagnosis and encourage patients to complete treatment? Does the scheduler understand the importance of the treatment that has been recommended or do they allow patients to defer scheduling? Is there an effective plan to follow up with those who do not schedule? Or, worse yet, is the staff innocently undermining the practice by judging clients by their own pocketbook?

If the front office and clinical staff are not totally on board with the doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan, they may be turning away revenue as well as jeopardizing the overall health of the patient. No practice can afford these risks.

3 – Collections.

Do any of your patients walk out the door without paying? Is there a stack of unopened EOBs and insurance checks on the billing desk or tucked away in a drawer?

If you are an in- network PPO insurance provider, you may be writing off as much as 50% of your usual and customary rate (UCR). As a contracted provider, you agreed to accept negotiated fees, collect co-pay at time of service, and file timely claims. If patients are not claiming insurance reimbursement, your cash flow needs demand prompt payment. If you anticipate writing off 50% of your UCR and the patient co-pay is 50% of that, you will be waiting to collect 50% of 50%. What other type of business does that? None. You, not the patient, needs to set clear financial guidelines and stick to it.

I often hear things like: “Our patients won’t change.” “We have always done it this way.” “Our patients will get upset if we ask for payment.” Vero3 helps you set financial policies to increase cash flow. We train the staff with language skills and steps to collect at time of service and keep your valued patient relationships.

4 – Billing.

Does your staff send statements infrequently or irregularly? Are accounts aggressively followed up within 30 days? Do you really know?

Money can’t come in until invoices go out. Billing needs to take a top priority and it needs to happen regularly and frequently.

Vero3 solves these issues by helping practice teams implement core systems and solid policies that eliminate the random choices and independent actions. We help your staff to understand their individual roles in your business and coach them to adopt a revenue generating mindset instead of the revenue-draining default.

Some of the critical core processes that address these issues include job descriptions that help your staff clearly understand their roles and your requirements, strategic and individualized team training and coaching that helps the back office communicate fluidly with the front office for seamless patient care, and schedule management for both the staff and the patients to maximize the practice’s customer service.

If any of these questions hit home, give Vero3 a call for a no-strings consultation to learn how we can put you back in charge of a profitable business.