In an Oct. 16 webinar hosted by Becker's Healthcare, Billie Reese-Turner, director of client services for in2itive Business Solutions, discussed how physician practices, surgery centers and other healthcare providers can create a foundation to generate more revenue.
Ms. Reese-Turner first defined the components of the right culture for revenue growth in healthcare providers' business offices. These include streamlined internal processes, an understanding of how internal processes flow and recognition of obstacles facing the business office.
Few people balk at the opportunity to grow their company's revenue — it's practically a universal goal. But the first question they ask may be the most daunting: Where to start?
Here are three key considerations.
Examine the office's internal processes. Is the business office wasting any time, money or other vital resources? Evaluate the knowledge of your business staff, facility staff, physicians and vendors. Review office standards to determine what, if anything, is falling through the cracks. "I have a belief we can always be better and do better," said Ms. Reese-Turner.
Study the office's elements of flow. Flow is made up of a few different parts that, combined, make up the business process. "Just starting from A to Z, ask, 'How are we doing things, what does that look like and what can we do to work more efficiently and effectively?" said Ms. Reese-Turner.
Breakdown the flow to study processes for charge entry, payment posting, account follow-up, electronic remittance advice and electronic funds transfers, and patient statements. Are your charges billed daily? How many days pass before staff follows up on a claim? Does the center use EFT services to expedite payment? ("Many clients I've worked with don't, and that amazes me," said Ms. Reese-Turner.) How frequently are patient statements sent out? These are the types of questions to ask to gain better understanding of business office flow.
Develop a plan to beat common obstacles. One way to do this is by having an audit and consultation team evaluate the business office's processes and task management. "Sometimes that's all you need, is someone else to take a look and say, 'You know, this is good, but it could be better,'" said Ms. Reese-Turner. Secondly, keep outsourcing as an option, even if it is a temporary solution. "Sometimes you need a little help to get out of the red and get caught up," she said. And lastly, it is important for office managers to act on what they learn about their processes — even if what they learn is negative. If a shortcoming comes to light, develop an action plan to fix it.
During the question and answer portion of the webinar, an attendee asked Ms. Reese-Turner about the error she most commonly sees surgery center administrators make without knowing it. "Some centers don't collect money upfront," she said. "There is always the debate about collecting money upfront, but it is easier to give money back than it is to collect it on the back end, I promise you that."
Another common error? Rebilling a charge over and over without identifying the root cause of the claim's denial. "Not all insurance companies give you the right denial," said Ms. Reese-Turner. Staff may initially receive reason for a denial, only to call the payer to hear a completely different reason. Rather than resubmitting claims over and over, Ms. Reese-Turner suggested business office staff preserve their time and energy by digging deeper for answers about denials and solving the root of the problem.
View or download the Webinar by clicking here (wmv). We suggest you download the video to your computer before viewing to ensure better quality. If you have problems viewing the video, which is in Windows Media Video format, you can use a program like VLC media player, free for download by clicking here.
Download a copy of the presentation by clicking here (pdf).