Today it is critical to measure the results of your practice using key performance indicators to identify areas for improvement. Figuring out such areas and implementing a solution can lead to an immediate increase in your practice’s profitability. This article discusses key performance indicators that can be used to identify areas for improvement.
Self-Payment Days in A/R greater than 60 days – This is an indicator of how long it takes for your practice to collect your patient receivables, which ultimately impacts your practice’s cash flow. If your practice’s A/R self-payment days are significantly above 60, it may be time for you to reevaluate how you approach collecting your patient balances. Do you only send invoices or does your practice have a strategic follow-up system that includes sending letters and making telephone calls? Having a defined credit plan and a process to collect such balances will keep this number to a minimum. This analysis will become more important as consumer-focused health plans gain popularity with employers.
Rejection Rate – This metric is an indicator of your effectiveness in preventing rejections, negotiating fees, monitoring payer behavior, and training staff. Simply put, the higher this percentage, the more money your practice is losing on a daily basis and it may be time to investigate the root cause of your rejections. Training staff in advance and identifying the cause of your denials can reduce this number.
Hourly Meetings – This measures the efficiency of your practice in terms of whether the schedule is full. Openings in your schedule mean that your practice will not generate revenue for that period. Over-scheduling can be just as detrimental to your practice as it can lead to patients spending too much time in the waiting room. By analyzing your current schedule, you can determine whether you need to add another doctor to your practice or change your practice hours.
Patient turns around – This is basically a measure of the time frame between when a patient comes in, checks in, is seen by the doctor, and checks out. The number one patient complaint, decade after decade, is not easily seen. A reasonable performance goal might be to see patients within 20 minutes of the appointment time. If your practice doesn’t meet this goal, consider mailing your new patients’ registration forms before they visit your office, so everyone has a head start when the patient arrives.
Turnover – While this metric may be more difficult to analyze quantitatively, it’s definitely worth looking into. Since your office staff is so crucial to the success of your practice, it is imperative that you keep an eye on staff turnover. Incentives can be put in place that reward your staff for curbing rejected claims and following up on rejected claims and overdue patient balances. Adequate training should be provided for your staff so that they are competent and can perform their daily tasks accordingly.
Budget to Actual Review – Although this one may seem obvious, it is often overlooked. By reviewing your monthly actual expenses and income against your budgeted numbers, you can see where your practice is doing financially. This is a high-level review that should be performed after each month-end close. Not only will it let you know where your practice stands financially, it can also draw attention to suspicious activity by your employees. While no business owner likes to think that one of their employees would commit fraud, it is critical that there are certain internal controls in place to limit such activity. You can even take it to the next level and compare your grades to those of other practices in your specialty.
The right set of Key Performance Indicators can transform your practice. It’s worth finding them and constantly reviewing them to see where your practice stands. This could be the difference between taking your practice to the next level or getting the same results time after time.
Recommended
- Oscar Worthy Customer Service - How the Hollywood Model Can… The 2008 Customer Service Oscar goes to USAA! This year, the national business award for outstanding customer service, considered the OSCAR of customer service, went to USAA, the United States military's financial and insurance provider, for the second year in a row. (Reported in the March 2008 edition of Business…
- Tax Exemption and Abatement Laws of New Jersey PL1991, c.431 with final amendments retroactive to August 5, 1992 consolidated, into one more flexible law, the various long-standing tax exemption laws under which municipalities may agree with private entities to undertake redevelopment projects in exchange for tax exemptions.PL1991, c.441, effective for the first full tax year beginning after enactment…
- Medical billing - what's all the hype about? We see so many medical billing ads. To earn a lot of money! Work from home! No experience necessary! The ads say that anyone can make a lot of money from medical bills, but is it really true?Health insurance billing has become much more complicated in recent years. If a…
- Outsourcing medical billing Medical treatment has changed significantly in recent years. It creates a lot of administrative problems when drawing up insurance policy procedures and dealing with complicated claim forms. To avoid these complexities, doctors seek outside help and hire representatives to advise them, attend insurance company seminars, and provide them with regular…
- Medical services and health insurance - public safety Modern days have brought many valuable technological tools into the medical world. In addition to advanced medical systems, technology has also improved the efficiency of medical services. Medical services are formed by a group of doctors with the aim of providing independent, expert and quality occupational health care to the…
- Instant Auto Insurance Quote - Hot Secrets You Must Know! Would you like an instant quote for your car insurance? Let's see what you should pay attention to.Auto insurance continues to rise, affecting just about every American. While we can't really afford it, we can't afford to go without either. Therefore, it is in your best interest to get the…
- How to get the best counselor for your adolescent All counselors are not equal when it comes to achieving success with an adolescent. Only if a therapist has a detailed working knowledge of teen counseling is he or she likely to succeed in getting the best results for a teen.Even though it can be difficult to find the right…
- How dog ownership has changed in 80 years An online search for comments and opinions explains that owning a dog in 1960 was very different from today. A quarter of dogs at the time were random strays, whether owned or not. Ownership rules were much less defined. Although commercial dog food was available and the Milk Bone treatment…
- 11 solid reasons why you should outsource your medical bills 1. Claims are not submitted on time Professionals who outsource medical billing understand the system and have a knack for submitting claims accurately and as quickly as possible. This ensures that you get your payments on time and don't have to wait months to receive what's yours. 2. Coding problems…
- Don't leave your home unattended without vacancy insurance If you are a person who travels frequently and stays away from home for extended periods of time, one of the first things you should do is to purchase vacancy insurance. It is possible that you have taken out home insurance to protect everything that can be stored in your…
- Insurance agency: Reasons for failure There are hundreds and even thousands of successful insurance agents who have tapped into the secret or built a good customer base and expanded it over the years. Unfortunately, every year there are many insurance companies that go out of business due to various reasons. You may be wondering why…
- Improving the claims process and management Efficient and effective claims management systems are critical to any business, as insurance claims have a wide range of complexity - from simple claims that are handled in days to complex liability claims that take years to complete.Companies are now trying to reduce turnaround time with innovative ways to improve…
- Swimming - what makes a great coach Coaching in sports is becoming increasingly difficult as we move into the 21st century. While this article focuses on the swim coach, the lessons learned can be applied to coaching in all sports. So what are the characteristics of a great coach? A coach will play a very important role…
- France has the best healthcare system in the world As the United States struggles toward a universal health care system, many have seen the Canadian health care system as a model. Only a few have looked at France. That is a mistake for at least 2 reasons.First, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), France has the best healthcare…
- Spine Surgery Information (Neck and Back Surgery) About spinal cord surgeryThe primary goal of neck or back surgery (spine surgery) is to correct an anatomical lesion in individuals who show no improvement with conservative, that is, non-surgical, treatment. Surgery is not an option for those patients whose anatomical lesion explaining their pain cannot be identified.Surgery only makes…
- Are you the CEO of your life and do you get value from your… What is a Cynic?"A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." -Oscar WildeThe hardest thing I do every day is to identify the value of my activities as a network marketer. As a business trainer, I showed people how to execute small processes to achieve…
- NPI numbers and old numbers - New rules from May 23, 2008… On May 23, 2008, insurance companies were required to accept only NPI for all paper and electronic claims. Not only did you have to include the NPI number, but you also had to EXCLUDE the legacy numbers. Some insurance companies were not ready for the deadline and applied for extensions…
- Fear of being alone: the crippling effects of monophobia Monophobia is a paralyzing fear of being alone. In some cases, even the thought alone can trigger panic attacks and increased anxiety. Monophobia, and most other phobias, are thought to be related to a previous traumatic event in a person's life. Through therapy and treatment, these events can be discovered…
- The Insurance Company Elevator Pitch An insurance company elevator pitch is a concise summary used to quickly describe your insurance company, products and services. It should contain your unique agency's value proposition and should be delivered within the span of an elevator ride, in about 30 to 60 seconds. This can be much more difficult…
- Medical Billing and Coding Job Description, Training and… If you've been thinking about taking medical coding or billing online courses or medical coding or billing training, you'll want to make sure you understand what this career and the job entails and have a good idea of what kind of salary you'll earn . Of course, you may want…